A Heart of Fire
by AikaWusHereRawr
Summary: A/N: Please do note that this is a rewrite of a fanfiction previously written by me. Join Ruby as she plunges into the world of One Piece and discovers her real family... with the help of a certain, famous, Portgas D. Ace.
1. Lost

**A/N: **Hello, all of you wonderful people who had the insight and the time to read my fanfiction. ^~^ Yaayyyy for my first publishment! I am a very slow updater, but my speed is directly proportional to the amount of favorites and reviews! *_* So keep that 'favorite' button happy by click-click-clicking it! Also, please, please do review! ^_^ I hope you like my fanfiction. Here you go.

* * *

The very first thing I realized when I woke up was that I was falling.

I barely had time to register what was happening when I felt myself hit the cold, hard ground. Intense pain shot up my spine, leaving me short of breath.

Immediately my eyes blurred, and my chest heaved as my body tried to get accustomed to the severe pain. I honestly thought I was going to die.

After what seemed like several minutes of agony, miraculously, the world refocused.

I blinked once.

I seemed to be seeing... an animation.

I blinked again, wondering if the fall warped my brain somehow. Maybe if I blink _just _enough, my eyesight will be fixed and everything will turn back to normal again.

Tentatively, I blinked again.

_What the fuck?_

The clouds looked like they were... drawn. What was going on? What the hell? Where the hell am I?

Terrified, I lifted my hands up to my face. I nearly let out a shriek in horror.

_What the hell happened to me?_

I felt my heart start to race, and I started choking on my breath. _Oh my god. OH my god._

_I've become a 2D animation. Shitshitshitshitshit._

Shakily, I sat up. I felt like my blood froze at the sight of my body. Something was very, very wrong.

My legs seemed much too taller than they should be. I knew they were my legs, but at the same time I felt like they were something completely foreign to me.

But what alarmed me the most was that I had a pair of _humongous_D-cups on my chest. Back in the... Back at home, I had a barely visible A-cup. What's going on? What the fuck has happened to me?

Where are my mother and my father? Where's Miki? The last thing I remember is falling asleep while we watched a movie together. Weren't we having a sleepover?

What the hell?

Where's Jason? Where did my brother go? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. What am I going to do?

_**WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY BODY!?**_

Before I realized it, I started hyperventilating. My eyes started to blur again, and my body started to shake in fear.

Inevitably, I started coughing. Shit, shit, my wheezing problem is acting up again.

At that moment I felt a gentle pat on my back.

"Miss?" I heard a male voice inquire politely. "Miss, are you alright?"

_You dipshit, does it look like I'm alright?_I wanted to snap back. But unfortunately, my voice caught in my throat with another heave, and I felt more pats on my back.

After a while like this, I finally came to be. A few more coughs, and I calmed down.

My eyes focused on the man who had the insight to help me. Through my steadily centering vision, I managed to make out the outline of a blond man dressed in a suit.

"Miss?" He asked again. I noticed his hand remained on my back.

"Thanks," I croaked out, "I'm fine now."

My eyesight returned to normal, thankfully. The blond man's lips curved up in a smile. His hand found mine and he touched it softly with his lips. "The honor is all mine, m'lady."

I felt my left eye twitch in disgust. Slowly, I withdrew my hand. "Th-thanks, but-"

I blinked again. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

The blond hair fell as a fringe on the man's face, covering one of his eyes. His lone eyebrow curled at one end, and his lips were curved up in a sleazy smile.

And as I stared, I could have sworn I saw hearts bloom in his eyes.

No way. No fucking way. This is _way_too unreal.

"Miss?" He inquired once more.

"A-aah, um," I took a few deep breaths, calming myself down, "Sir, d-do you know where I am?"

The man blinked. "Are you lost, m'lady? I will be happy to escort you home." He lent a hand to help me up. "Currently, we're somewhere around the outskirts of Nanohana."

_Nanohana._

That settles it, I thought. I accepted his hand as I got up (but made sure to withdraw it as soon as I got on my feet).

"Thank you, sir. Could you please take me to the nearest restaurant?"

I barely heard his reply of assent. I sighed in disbelief as my eyes roved down the streets of the port town in Alabasta.

I've seen this place before. I know this place.

Lost? Oh yes. I was very lost. I don't even know if I can ever go back home.

I think I'm stuck.

I'm stuck in the world of One Piece.


	2. Determined

**A/N: **It's a quick update! Yay! So, as usual. Please read and review! ^_^** Big big thanks to the very first reviewer _aqua-empress,_ and also to _MsWildLuck!_ *~* You guys are wonderful. **

And so, without further ado... onto the story!

* * *

_Okay. Take deep breaths. Calm down. Everything's going to be fine._ Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes in thought.

My name is Ruby. I'm 16 years old. The last thing I remember is dozing off with my best friend Miki in my room. I think we were watching a movie. I'm not sure I remember what it was. It was probably _The Notebook _or something cheesy like that.

My parents had been sleeping in the room down the hall. My older brother Jason had been doing… whatever that he does in his room, which is across the hall from mine. I live in Athens, Greece with my family and friends.

Or rather, I _used_ to.

I opened my eyes again. The smell of tobacco stung my nose. I glared irritably at the blond man next to me, who was lighting a cigarette.

"Sanji," I found out he was called, "please put that cigarette away." Tobacco smoke is very bad for my respiratory system, what with the wheezing thing I have. (I found this out the hard way)

The blond man next to me stole a glance at me in what he obviously thought was a very alluring manner. "But miss," he puffed out a cloud of smoke, "It intoxicates me… as you do."

I rolled my eyes visibly. I was already used to this guy's lame innuendos and pick-up lines, and I haven't even known him for ten minutes.

_However_… My thoughts channeled down a more unpleasant path.

Even though I seemed very calm, I was internally freaking out. _I'm stuck in the world of One Piece. _What's One Piece, you may ask? It's an anime – an animated series, if you may. I don't know much about it, since I'm not a fan and everything, but it's hard to miss tiny details about it here and there when you have an older brother who is _literally_ obsessed with it.

You might be surprised, but there are _tons _of Greek anime fans. My brother just happened to be one of them. But while my brother was what the world referred to as a downright _Otaku_, I happened to be into more practical things. Like swimming. That's practical.

But I do know a few snippets about the anime world. I mean, I can notice I'm in a completely different world than I was the night before. As soon as I saw the blond cook I often saw while my brother watched television, I knew.

_These people…_

I thought as I looked around the bazaar I walked through. I wished I had more eyes so that I could take in everything I could see. I felt like I went back in time.

… _They're so different._

I saw domed buildings of every shape, size and color adorn every street my eyes wandered to. I felt as if every building represented a different story; a different personality. I was taken with amazement as I stared in every direction.

On one corner of the bazaar I saw a man dressed in a drab grey robe holding up a single gold apple. On another I saw a woman yelling if anyone wanted to buy a sample of the 'Sherry-sama's hundred percent au natural strawberry perfume'. I inhaled deeply again and caught scent of the irresistible fruit. I couldn't help but sigh.

As I stared in wonder inside all the stores I could see, I found perfume bottles of every shape and size, as well as brightly colored desert clothes for every age and taste. My curious eyes found souvenirs, designer shoes, exotic flowers, and as I peeked inside the door of an open club, a pair of attractive and brightly-clothed dancer girls swayed to a middle-eastern rhythm.

It was a consumer's paradise.

I felt the blond next to me stare at me in slight wonder as I gawked. "Are you new to these parts, Miss Ruby?" He questioned, and I noticed with irritation that he still had that cigarette stuck in his mouth.

I paused in my tracks for a second. _New to these parts, huh? _

Sanji paused and shot me a questioning look so I resumed walking. Taking another deep breath (and ignoring the annoying odor of tobacco) I replied, "I guess you could say that. I've never been here before."

"Where are you from, then?" He asked.

I looked down hesitantly. "Well… the thing is…" I had no idea what to say. "I'm… not exactly sure." I replied carefully, looking at him out of the corner of my eye.

Sanji took a puff from his cigarette, and then exhaled (Once again, my nose twitched in irritation at the annoying smell). "So you really are lost, huh?" He said, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Why go to this restaurant, then? Won't your folks be worried?"

I scratched my cheek in thought, as I usually would_. Maa, it's really hot in this country, _I thought as I tied my long black hair up in bun. "I… don't know where my folks are, either." I replied truthfully. Well, okay. I do know where they are, but I don't know how to get to them. I chose to go to a restaurant because... well, I remember something about a restaurant in Arabasta.

"I see." He replied.

We walked in silence for a few minutes before Sanji pointed at a restaurant at the far end of the road. It was a relatively big restaurant, with a bright green dome resting atop. In front of the dome and on top of the ceiling, a yellow sign had been painted with the words "Spice Bean". "Is that place okay?" He asked.

_Spice Bean. _The name sounded familiar somehow. _Is it the restaurant I was thinking of? _

I nodded. "Yeah, that place is fine." I murmured assent as we walked down the street together. When we reached the restaurant, I turned to thank Sanji, who accidentally _**blew a puff of smoke**_ right into my _**face**__._

His eyes widened, as did mine. I gave myself three seconds. "R-Ruby-chan—" He started apologetically. My breath hitched in my throat.

_Three…_

My chest started heaving, and my eyes blurred. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean—"

_Two…_

Reflexively, I tried to take a deep breath to get rid of the lodge in my airway. "—Are you okay?"

_One…_

I fell to my knees and started coughing uncontrollably. _Augh! Damn that stupid curly eyebrow! Shitheaded blond! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!? _I wanted to scream in irritation at the man in front of me. _I TOLD YOU TO PUT THAT__** DAMN**__ CIGARETTE AWAY! _

"Ruby-chan!" He swooned in apology. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" He said as he lifted me up from my knees carefully. "I promise to never smoke in front of you again! Please forgive me, Ruby-chan!"

"You…" I managed to croak out in between heavy breaths, "Absolute… Retard…"

I finally straightened up with a deep sigh, noticing all the bystanders that had paused to watch the convulsing teenager. "Thank you, Sanji-kun." I said in a monotone. "Now, please leave me alone."

Sanji paused for a moment. "I really am sorry, m'lady. You will be fine, won't you?" He caressed my face gently.

"Yes, Sanji-kun. Thank you very much." I said, in a dangerously polite tone. "Don't worry about me. Please go back to your business." _Before I knock the living daylights out of your tobacco-damaged body, you shithead. _

As I watched the blond man walk away, (along with the bystanders) I felt a small smile curve my lips. Despite the fact that he was a tobacco-addicted, flirting prick, I had taken a liking to him. I was almost sorry to see him go.

But I was used to taking care of things on my own. A firm believer of gender equality, I never let a man 'take care' of me. So, taking another deep breath, I turned around and entered the restaurant in front of me.

_Spice Bean, huh? Bring it on._

* * *

By the time five minutes had passed, I was on the verge of tears. I had no idea what to do. _Who the fuck was I kidding? I'm just a stupid sixteen-year-old. I don't know anything about this world. I'm going to die. Oh God, what am I going to do? _More than once I had wished that Sanji was here with me.

The Ossan at the bar looked at me sympathetically. He was a nice enough man and he had already warded off several men desperate enough to try and prey on a young teenager. _I want to go home. What am I doing here? Who brought me here? _I wondered in desperation. _If I broke the barrier between Earth and this world once, then maybe I can do it again. _

Then I remembered I fell from the sky. My only clue was already a dead-end. _There is just no way I can rewind today, is there? _

I tried to blink away tears.

"Miss?" The Ossan asked politely, "If you want, I can let you ring up your parents…" He began helpfully.

"N-no, it's okay," I replied shakily. I'm sure that service here would never reach another dimension, anyway. "I'm f-fine."

I felt the man grunt slowly and turn away from me, towards another customer. Said customer sat only a seat away from me. Trying to keep the tears from falling, I rested my head down on the table. I felt my waist-length hair loosen from its bun and fall around my shoulders like a curtain. _Great_. Now it really does look like I'm hiding my tears.

But right now, I was way too miserable to care. My shoulders shook slightly as I tried to keep calm, but I couldn't take away the pain that was eating at my heart. I was all alone in this world, and I knew it.

Possibly, I was all alone forever.

"Can I have a plate of the best rice you have?" I heard the customer next to me order his food. _Food. _I sighed. Man was I hungry. But, since '_No cash, no service_', I was stuck both helpless _and _hungry.

"Thank you," I heard him say politely as the Ossan placed the plate in front of him.

Blinking away the tears that threatened to fall, I lifted my head from the table slowly. I couldn't help it. I was pretty hungry, and the pleasant odor of the dish seemed to call out to me.

The rice _did_ look pretty delicious. It was fried, with a side of dish of meat in some kind of sauce. I could see every pea, and every carrot in the dish. My stomach rumbled audibly. _Be quiet_, I told it.

That was when I took a good look at the man who ordered the food. Or rather, I took a good look at his outrageous attire.

He wasn't wearing anything much besides a pair of black shorts held in place by an oversized blue buckle. Whether it was to show off his wonderfully sculpted torso or it was because he was just too lazy, I didn't know, but certainly he had the kind of muscles that would make girls back at home swoon.

What caught my attention next was the pair of ridiculously eye-catching tattoos that adorned his body. The one I saw first was on his left shoulder; the letters 'A S C E' with the S crossed out. _Weird_. The tattooist must have been high or something.

But the one on his back outshone the one on his shoulder by a mile. While the four letters were somewhat dark and inconspicuous, the bright purple Jolly Roger that adorned the young man's back was… _huge. _There was no other way to describe it. It also had an interesting white mustache on it.

_That_ _sounded_ _familiar_. _White mustache… why is that so familiar? I think I've seen this man before. What was his name again? _I stared at the four letters on his bicep. _Asce…? No, that's not quite it._

But I have to say, that ridiculously ugly orange hat takes the cake. It had this weird shine to it, and I honestly couldn't determine what the hell kind of a material it was made from. Even weirder was the pair of theatrical faces that sat atop the hat, ringed by a necklace of red beads. I couldn't help but think.

_**He's so weird. **_

I wondered what kind of a face he was hiding beneath his orange-brimmed hat.

I saw the gun hanging from his belt. _He must be a pirate. Is he one of Sanji's crew members? Doesn't he have some relation to that Monkey (_I don't know his name) _captain? _

_Damn it, Ruby, think. He may be able to give you some answers. _

I opened my mouth to call him but then I noticed the way he was eating. I blinked in disbelief. I know this was an anime, but I honestly had no idea anybody had the stomach to eat like that. The man was literally _inhaling _the food.

Okay, maybe not literally, but almost.

I felt my eyes gape in wonder at the sight before me.

_Sn-Snap out of it, woman. _

"Um," I began nervously, a bit shy. What if he wanted to eat _me_ for interrupting his meal? "S-Sir?"

"Mmf?" He tore his eyes away from the plate for a second. "Who're you?" He asked between mouthfuls.

I opened my mouth to answer, but instead of my voice, a ludicrously loud rumble erupted from within my gut.

I swear, in the silence that followed, you could have dropped a pin and it would still sound magnified. Feeling a thousand eyes on my back, I felt myself redden visibly. Even _Asce _in front of me was trying to stifle a laugh while he scarfed down his lunch.

"I-I'm hungry, okay?" I said defensively, still highly colored.

"You are?" The dark-haired man said. "Ossan!" He called to the bartender, who had been observing us with amuse. "Get this girl a plate of rice. She's hungry."

I stared at him in disbelief. This ragged man had the money to pay for me? "You don't have to do that." I said politely. (I was really hungry, though)

"No, it's fine." He said in a responsible manner.

I smiled slightly. This world really is full of surprises. A pirate who's willing to pay for the lunch of a young girl? Now I've really seen everything.

I was cynical now, but when the Ossan put the rice dish in front of me, I couldn't hold on anymore.

I almost lost control of my thoughts as I dug in.

* * *

Several minutes later, I asked him a question.

"My name is Ace." The young man answered. His plate was finally empty, so he looked up at me. That was when I saw his face.

He had really dark brown eyes, and a spurt of freckles across his slightly pink face. He had a strong jaw line and somewhat thin lips. He had a friendly sort of face, and as I observed, I guessed that he actually had a kind heart and feelings beneath all those bulging pectorals.

His face was very familiar… too familiar. It brought a bad feeling to my gut. I remember my brother mentioning something about an Ace… but what? I didn't remember anything. Darn myself for not paying attention. Who would've thought Jason's weird anime obsession might have been of use?

"Ace," I repeated. "My name is Ruby." I smiled politely. "Thank you for the food. But I don't have any money," I started cautiously, knowing I was treading down a dangerous path, "Although if there is any way I could pay you back, let me know...?" I ended the sentence as a question, hoping with all my might that he didn't reply with… well, you know.

_Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it... _I chanted mentally.

"Aah," he raised an eyebrow sheepishly as he turned away from me. "About that, don't worry about it. I'll take care of the bill."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. _Ruby, are you sure this guy is a pirate? _I asked myself mentally. He was one hell of a pushover. _Maybe I can use this guy to find a way to get back home. _"Are you sure?"

He didn't look at me as he answered. "Positive."

My smile grew, as did my boldness. "Sir—"

"Call me Ace." He interrupted.

"Ace, then," I started again, "are you sure you're a pirate?"

I saw a smirk grace his lips lightly. "There's a lot about me that you don't know, Miss Ruby." He said coolly, spinning around on his chair to face the door. "I'm not that good a person as you believe I am." He leaned back against the bar as he glanced at me.

I smiled again. Somehow, I found that very hard to believe. "That's too bad." I turned to face him. "I was hoping you could even be my friend."

_I need to know. I need to get back home. _

Ace lifted the brim of his hat with a single finger, smirking. I made sure to stare right into his eyes. "Miss Ruby, could you possibly be saying that you want to be friends with a pirate?"

_I'll do whatever it takes._

I edged closer to him. I felt my body heat up, for some unfathomable reason. The man next to me seemed to be radiating some form of heat. Good. This will help flush my cheeks.

I shook out my long dark hair and gazed at him with half-lidded eyes. "Maybe," I said, tracing a finger up his arm lightly, "even more than friends." I cooed.

I saw him consider me for a moment. His eyes followed the line my finger made up his arm, and then he raised his dark eyes to look into mine. I noticed that the smile had vanished from lips. Despite myself, I felt a blush creep up on my skin.

_Focus. Don't let him get ahead of you. You need to get back home. _I chided myself mentally.

"You know," he started, gently prying my hand off. I saw his eyelids droop slightly as the smile returned on his lips. "I want you to—"

And then, without a warning, his eyes closed and he fell… _face flat onto my boobs._

_What… the… hell? _

"Y-You pervert!" I screamed, and tried to push him off. Unfortunately, he was way too heavy. "Get off me!"

I shoved his shoulder and tried to get him to move… but he didn't budge.

Immediately, my blood froze.

"Ace?" I asked softly. "Ace!" I gave his shoulder one more shove.

_Oh my god. _

"ACE!" I shrieked, and the entire bar stopped what they were doing to stare at me.

_Oh my god. I just killed him._

* * *

**A/N: ***hides* Please do _**review**_. *emphasis on _review_*


	3. Surprised

**A/N: **It's yet another quick update! Huh, this is really surprising. I usually never update this fast. Once again, thank you all so much for the lovely reviews! :D _**MsWildLuck, Guest, SilentScreaming1944**_and of course_ **aqua-empress**_**! **Reviews are my life and soul! Thank you guys so much. And as usual, please do read, review and favorite! ^~^ I'll try and upate soon again. This chapter might seem a bit shorter in comparison to the previous one.

* * *

_Oh my god._

It's bad enough to wake up and find yourself stuck in a completely foreign city in a foreign country of another dimension, but _no, no, no. Apparently_, that's not enough. _Apparently, _Life has to constantly remind me _not_ to try and fix things.

_Apparently, _I have to go and _kill _someone for me to realize that I should just _**give **_up_. _

"Ace!" I shook his shoulder vigorously. For a moment I forgot the fact that he had his face planted onto my mammary, I had bigger things to worry about; like being convicted for _homicide. _I mean really, are my seduction skills just _that_ bad?

The Ossan stood before us, gaping at the scene. "U-um, Miss, maybe you should get away…" He offered timidly, whilst edging away himself. "Don't you know about the vicious Desert Strawberry that infests these parts? Maybe he ate one of those… you should get away, Miss." He kept urging me. "You could die, too, Miss."

"But-but-but," I stammered inaudibly before shaking his shoulder one more time. A person just _died _in front of me, for crying out loud. I can't just edge away and forget it ever happened! "_Ace_!" I shrieked in fear.

By this time, a small crowd had gathered around the restaurant, and there was a pin-drop silence as everyone tried to comprehend what was going on.

_Oh, just wonderful. Now I seriously never will get back home. This is great. Just great. I'm going to get convicted for murder and die as a petty criminal in this stupid dimension._

_No way. No way did he just die on me._

And then, all of a sudden, defying all logic and reasoning, the man in my arms started wriggling around. I heard astonished gasps and murmurs from the crowd around me as he suddenly withdrew his head from my chest and gaped at the audience around him.

As I stared in utter disbelief, he blinked a few times before doing something that humiliated and shocked me to no ends. He leaned back in, **right towards my chest**, and _voluntarily_ violated my rights in front of _everyone_ who happened to be there. It was as if he was completely oblivious to the stares of everyone around him.

It was, by far, the single most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me.

_I really, really, really want to go back home. _

After rubbing his face repeatedly, (and after all the blood in my body rushed to my face) he drew back once more. And he had the guts to _yawn. __**TO YAWN. **_

I wanted to_** kill **_him**. **

No wait, not kill. That's too merciful! I'm going to tear him apart – piece by piece – and – no, no wait. I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to tie him to a pole, take his guts out…

… Andshovethemright_back__** inside. **_

"Maa," he said sleepily. The crowd before him gaped in wonder. "I fell asleep." He said simply.

_You… did… __**what**__? _

"YOU FELL ASLEEP!?" The crowd behind him chorused in harmony and incredulity. The entire crowd dispersed immediately, grumbling and mumbling about the lack of drama.

Ace rubbed his hair sheepishly and put his hat back on (it fell off during the flurry of activity). "So, okay, as I was saying—" He started again, only to be cut off by the murderous glare I was giving him. His eyes widened and he even backed away, a little.

"Wh-what?" He asked in bewilderment. "What happened? Why are you staring at me like that?"

Even the Ossan was gaping at him in open-mouthed shock. "S-sir, you just—"

I clenched and unclenched my fists. "Do you _realize," _I started dangerously, "that you just sexually harassed me in front of an _entire __**city**_?"

Ace blinked, now even more bewildered. Apparently, he had no idea he did _any_ such thing. "Wh-what?" He repeated once more. "I did what? When?"

"JUST NOW!" All the occupants of the bar screamed back at him in disbelief (me included).

He gaped at us, astounded. "Impossible. I would never."

"Well, you just did." I glared at him. He lifted his massive shoulders up and let them drop in a shrug. "I didn't mean to."

"_I didn't mean to_ doesn't fix everything!"

Ace shot back a reply but my attention was stolen by a powerful-looking man dressed in a uniform. Good thing, too. I was just about to rip that shithead's throat out.

Said uniformed official was white-haired, and he had left the front of his shirt unbuttoned, revealing a well-looked-after torso. Geez, what is it with men here and being overly exposed? He carried what looked like a stone jitte over his shoulder.

The bad part? He had a cigar stuck in his mouth.

_Oh joy. Life decides to punish me yet again._

Tobacco-addicted or not, this guy seemed like a uniformed official. Perhaps he could find me a safe place to stay; at least, until I figure things out a bit.

But as I opened my mouth to speak, the officer spoke up. "You don't have a problem with eating in public, do you?" He seemed to be addressing… well, _me. _

_What the __**hell**__ did I do now? _

"Portgas D. Ace." He finished, glaring at the moron sitting next to me.

_Oh, it's __**you**__. _Seems like he pissed off this officer sometime ago. And, accounting for my personal experience, I must say that I can't blame him.

"Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Second Division." He stated. Almost reflexively, everyone in the bar started creeping away from the dark-haired man, and I heard mumbles and murmurs of dislike. _Whitebeard… _So that tattoo stands for _Whitebeard_.

The name Whitebeard _does_ sound familiar… but I don't seem to remember why. Damn it, I can't remember _anything._

"WHITEBEARD?" The Ossan exclaimed in disbelief. "THE WHITEBEARD PIRATES?"

I blinked. I didn't remember The Whitebeard Pirates being so bad. But as I sat observing the scene unfolding in front of me, I heard people murmur, "this dumbass guy is part of the Whitebeard Pirates?" _Huh. I'm pretty sure the Whitebeard Pirates were never bad guys. _I sat there, in confusion, while all the occupants of the bar edged away from us.

For a moment I lost myself in my own thoughts, and lost track of the conversation in front of me.

_Okay, you know at least three things about this guy. He's a Whitebeard pirate; he has narcolepsy; and he has a terrible sense of fashion. But the downside is that you actually knew him before you came here. That's bad. You need to stay away from trouble. This guy already attracted trouble, and you haven't even known him for an hour._

_But then again, I can't really get back home if I play safe._

I cringed internally. _But I __**so **__do not want to get involved in any bloody messes. _

_I'm just going to have to wing it—_

It was at this moment that I heard a distant, somewhat high-pitched roar. It sounded like the voice of a young teenage boy. "GOMU GOMU _NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_—"

_It's getting louder._

So, without thinking, I blurted out loud, "What's that noise?"

"Huh?" Everyone in the bar grunted as they diverted their attention to me – Smoking Police Officer and Moron included.

Before I could say anything else, the the smoking official suddenly shot forward as if someone hit him from behind.

Time suddenly seemed to slow down. It was at that crucial moment that my memory suddenly decided to come back.

_Ruby yawned in exasperation. "Honestly, Jason. What do you want to show me, now?" She asked her brother, internally rolling her eyes._

_Her overly eager brother bounced up and down in his seat excitedly. "One Piece is seriously the best anime, ever! I'm sure even a cynical bitch like _you _would like it!" Ruby shot her brother an infuriated look before sitting down next to him on the revolving chair. "Fine, whatever." She finally gave in. "Let's see."_

_Ruby observed a scene where a man in an orange hat conversed with a white-haired man in a uniform. He was a 'marine'. His name was Smoker, and Jason informed her that he had eaten a 'Moku Moku Fruit'. Apparently, that made him a 'smoke' man. The other man, Portgas D. Ace, happened to be looking for his younger brother; Monkey D. Luffy._

_Coincidentally, Monkey D. Luffy happened to – literally – fly into Ace himself. Looking for a restaurant, he crashed first into Smoker, and then the two of them shot forward together; sending Portgas D. Ace flying through the wall of the restaurant._

Meh, _she had thought back then, _not bad. That was pretty funny, actually.

_If only she knew. If only._

_Well, _I thought, back to the present, _at least now I know the name of Sanji's captain. Oh, and the cigar-guy._

But the scenario I saw in my head wasn't going to help with this situation much. Oh no, no, no. There were three things very much different about the situation then, and the situation now.

One, Portgas D. Ace hadn't mentioned anything about his younger brother, yet. Two, he had a young girl accompanying him (me). And three, that young girl (yes, me) happened to be sitting—

'_Shit'_ was all I could think of as the man named Smoker flew towards me. _I'm sitting where the moron is supposed to be sitting._

_Well, _I mused as the white-haired giant of a man came closer and closer, _there isn't much I can do right now. _

And then the body hit me, and everything went black.

* * *

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him–and I didn't know how dominant that part might be–that thirsted for Bella's blood. And third, I am _so _not as durable as Portgas D. Ace. Seriously.

Okay, so that first part was very, very irrelevant. But whatever; I had started reading Twilight back at home before I came here (a very ingenious – please do note the sarcasm – suggestion by my very own Miki), and that stupid quote was stuck in my head.

I tried to gently test my limbs, you know, see if anything was broken, but I couldn't move.

When I opened my eyes, I found that a few pieces of (heavy) rock along with a few wooden boards were preventing any locomotion or movement. I shoved off a lighter piece of rock with my left hand (_so no broken bones there) _and tested my right arm.

_Ouch, _I thought immediately, feeling a sting. _Something must be broken. _Very slowly, I wriggled out from under the debris and weakly got up, brushing off any stray pieces of rock or dust with my arm.

I must have been out for quite a while, because no Smoker or Ace was in sight. And, as far as I could see (through the humongous hole made by our flying bodies) there weren't many people in the restaurant.

That was when I looked up at the sky. It was with astonishment as I saw a huge pillar of smoke and fire swirl around a few blocks away. It almost felt like the two substances were battling for dominance. It was certainly a very peculiar sight.

_Smoker and… Ace? _

So the moron must have some fire-related ability. _Oh yeah, _I realized, remembering, _He's also known as Firefist Ace. _

I looked around and saw that I was in some kind of alleyway. I was at a loss of what to do when another memory came rushing back to me.

"_Damn it, Jason, what do you want now?" The dark-haired girl snapped exasperatedly, her gray eyes burning like a distant storm. "I don't have time for this anymore." _

_Her older brother pouted sadly (he can be quite endearing at times), "Just one episode? Please?" _

"_Okay, just one—"_

I was interrupted from my reverie by a tap on the shoulder. "Miss, is your name Ruby?" I turned around to meet with a younger, scrawnier-looking uniformed official. He had a grim look on his face.

"Yes…?" I replied carefully. "Why?"

"I'm placing you under arrest," he said just as grimly, "for alliance with a major criminal. Ruby, with a bounty of 7 million, you are commanded to stay still. Anything you say will and can be used against you."

I blinked. _What? _

"I found the girl," he spoke into a walkie talkie as he whipped out a pair of handcuffs. "Sector C-26. Yes, I'm bringing her into custody. She's going to spend the rest of her life behind bars."

... **_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! _**

* * *

**A/N: **Teehee! :) How I love torturing her. **Please, please, do review~! **


	4. Criminal

**A/N: **It's yet another quick update! I suppose I'll be pretty fast at updating these days, because the holidays have begun, and I'm going to have a lot of free time. So, as usual, read, review, and favorite! ^~^

Big big thanks to my reviewers, _**MsWildLuck**_ (Thanks!) ,_** SilentScreaming1944**_ (Of course! ^~^ There'll be many flashbacks from here on that involves her brother hahahahah. Oh yes, I like Jason a lot, too. Fellow One Piece fans always love their nakama! And the answer to your question.. is pretty complicated. Read this chapter. It says something about it.) ,_ **pizzafan123**_(Thank you, and of course! ^^)and **aqua-empress **(She got it just now. We'll see whether Ace saves her, by the way! Hahahahhaha. Do write one. I'd love to read it!)! Love you guys! :) And also, thanks to all the readers who don't have the time to review (but please do review okay? Reviews are to me what meat is to Luffy).

So without further ado, here's the next chapter.

* * *

"_That's a Vivre Card," Jason pointed out while they were watching One Piece together (i.e. while Ruby was forced to watch One Piece with him) one day. "If you tear it apart and give it to someone else, the piece you tore off will always point to the bigger part of the Vivre Card."_

_Ruby raised her eyebrows in astonishment. "That's actually kind of beautiful." She said, impressed. "What else?" _

"_It represents the life force of the owner. If the card begins to burn up on its own, it means that the person's life force is depleting. Upon death, the card burns up completely." _

"_Huh," she replied, "interesting. So, how do you know all this?" _

"_Oh, it's in the Manga, duh." Her brother Jason had replied superiorly.. "Non-fans won't know, of course."_

* * *

_Are they still following me?_

I looked vigorously from left to right as I skunked in the dark alleyway. _Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here. _I recited mentally, hoping that they wouldn't hear my heavy breathing.

My name is Ruby. How did I get here? It's a long story, but it involves a moron and different dimensions. Apparently, I'm a wanted criminal. These weird officers, called _Marines_, are chasing me. But I swear I'm completely innocent! All I did was try to seduce a pushover-pirate of a man, and now all of a sudden these crazy guys are chasing after me.

And therefore, I've come to the conclusion that I really, really hate this anime.

Oh yes. I forgot to mention. _I'm stuck in the world of One Piece._

Taking a deep breath and hoping to God that my wheezing problem suddenly doesn't decide to act up; I tiptoed over to the near end and peeked out. I let out a sigh of relief before turning my head to the other side.

I had to hold my breath in to stop from exclaiming out. A whole army of Marines were marching (thankfully) away from me. All of them had their backs to me, and I thought maybe I could slink back into the alley and escape from the other side before anybody noticed.

It was at that moment that a little blonde girl chose to walk over to me and ask (pretty loudly, I might add), "Miss, why are you hiding in that alleyway?"

Almost immediately, a soldier whipped his head back. "SHE'S OVER THERE!"

Abandoning all attempts to _slink back in, _I ran off towards the far end of the alleyway as fast as I could and hoped that all health rules of animated characters applied to me as well. I could really use infinite stamina right now.

I emerged from the far end of the alleyway and took a moment to rest against the wall. I did a quick scan of the street, and I found none of the Marines. I sighed in relief and I started walking down the street cautiously.

About an hour earlier, after the young Marine had announced that he was "putting me under arrest", I panicked. I flailed around and managed to slap the Marine on the face. Leaving him stunned, I scampered off, and managed to run a fair distance before I paused for breath, afraid that my asthma might act up.

_Huge _mistake.

A marine spotted me and called for back-up before letting me know that _he _knew that I was there. However, since it's pretty hard to miss a group of Marines running towards me with their handcuffs out and guns positioned, I started sprinting off again before they caught up, clutching my broken arm. I remember thanking all of my lucky stars that this twisted-up dimension had decided to give me long legs; because they were definitely a huge assist to my speed.

Afterwards, I hid in the alleyway and… well; now I'm here.

All of a sudden, another riotous roar deafened my ears. It seemed to come from a nearby street. Panicking, I started running again. I forgot about my arm. It stung painfully and I cradled it as gently as I could. _I'm innocent! I don't _want_ to die in jail!_

Unfortunately, the roar started getting louder. _Damn, _I thought, _they're getting closer. _Getting afraid, I sped up, only to trip over my own feet and fall flat on my face.

_Oh, no. Falling is not good. _

The wind knocked out of my body, and by the time I helped myself up, I was shaking. If I overexert myself anymore, I was sure I would start wheezing, and I would be as good as dead if that happened.

_No, _I thought, _I can't give up._

I had barely managed to take two steps when a hand slapped over my mouth and pulled me into a dark room.

_Oh, _great_. _I thought. _What now? _

* * *

"Wh-who are you?" I asked into the darkness, "What do you want with me?"

"Shh." A voice silenced me at once. "Be quiet, at least until they pass by." A female voice cautioned.

A silence swept over the room immediately, and from outside, we heard shouts and yells of several men. "Where did she go?" "Where is she?!" "COME OUT, PIRATE!"

_What the hell did I even do? _I thought. _I'm not a pirate. I'm sure this is Ace's fault. Goodness. Trying to wheedle information out of that guy just seems impossible. _

After a few minutes, the deafening roar quieted down. It seemed like they finally passed by.

The person in the room with me must have been thinking along the same line, because I heard a few footsteps in the darkness. She seemed to be going to the far side of the room. _What's she doing? _

As if to answer my thoughts, a dim light flickered on, illuminating part of a dusty living room. There was a wooden table in the middle and atop, stood a vase with a pair of wilting roses in it. From what I could make out in the darkness, I saw cobwebs and peeling paint. Obviously whoever that lived here wasn't a very homely person.

A plump, middle-aged woman stepped out from the darkness. "My name is Derannah." She announced. She had wild, brown curls that splayed around her face like a cloud. She wore a dirty, unwashed apron over her clothes. She had a plain, aging face, but her eyes startled me. They were bright green, and as I stared, I noticed that she had a very odd pupil. For some reason it seemed… yellow. She looked like someone who, about twenty-years ago, must have been very pretty.

"H-hello," I said nervously, "I'm Ru—" I started, only to be cut off by the woman named Derannah.

"I know." She said emotionlessly. "I know who you are. You can stay here for as long as you want. I have food. I have a bed. I have clothes you can take." She said all this in the same tone, and her face remained expressionless. It was a bit eerie.

"T-Thank you, but I really can't."I said nervously. I didn't even know who this woman was. I don't remember ever seeing anyone even resembling her. I doubt even Jason would know her. "I don't want to bother you—"

"You're not bothering me." She said in the same monotone. I noticed that she hardly ever blinked. Her arms remained rigid by her side. I wondered what kind of person she must have been when she was younger.

"But—" I started to protest again, but at this moment she chose to walk over to the partly-illuminated counter to her left. I paused for a moment; surprised that she could move (her limbs seemed really stiff, okay?). "But I really don't need—"

"You will stay." She interrupted again, firmly. She opened a cabinet door and rummaged through its contents, which, from my angle, I couldn't see,

"But madam," I pushed stubbornly, "I insist." Okay. I'll admit it. I'm afraid of this creepy middle-aged woman. Eep. Also, I don't really like this house either. It feels like someone died here ages ago, and it smells like that, too. _Maybe those Marines weren't so bad…_

"No." She said expressionlessly. "You will stay here." _Good God, she's stubborn._

"I—" I started again, but I stopped immediately when she pulled out a _huge _foot-long knife out of the cabinet. Excuse me, but what the fuck? Who keeps stuff like that in their _kitchen_? "No." She said firmly, turning towards me again.

_Oh my god. Oh my god. She's going to kill me. I'm sure she's going to murder me with that huge cleaver. _I guess I have no choice but to stay. I opened my mouth to say okay. "**Eeeeeeep**_." _However, that was all that came out.

"Pardon?" She asked, cleaning her… kitchen knife with a dirty rag.

"I mean," I said nervously, "Okay. Sure. I'll stay with you."

_Dear God, you hate me, don't you? _

"Excellent." She said, just as emotionlessly, stowing the kitchen inside her apron. I gulped nervously. _Is she saving it for later use? _

A very horrible thought suddenly came to me. _What if she's a cannibal? That would explain why she has no kids! _I tried to subtly edge away from the woman. _She ate her kids! And now she wants another meal, so she wants to prey on me! _

I considered my chances and then bolted towards the door.

The cleaver whizzed past my ear and stuck itself in the wall next to the door. I stopped running, and my blood froze in fear. Slowly, I turned around and obediently walked back to the woman, who _still _had no expression on her face.

I sighed. _What now? _

* * *

"Why did you save me?" I asked the woman cautiously, a few minutes later. She had (rather forcefully) sat me down on the sofa and was now pouring me a cup of tea. I had my doubts whether the tea was safe to be ingested.

She ignored the question. "Miss Ruby. You have a bounty." She stated simply. "Do you know why?"

"Is it because I hung out with that Ace moron?" I asked carefully. But then, all of a sudden, before I could react, the woman got up quite agilely and started pacing in front of me. I thought maybe she had a sudden personality-change, but when she stopped pacing and faced me, she _still _had that no expression.

"No. This goes deeper than that." She said emotionlessly. "You have a lot of things you need to find out, Ruby."

I glanced at her warily. _What was she trying to say?_ "What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously.

"I mean just that." She sat back down on the sofa, her face impassive. Carefully, I picked up the cup of tea she poured me and smelled it carefully. It _seemed_ okay enough. I took a careful sip, and sighed in relief. It's not poison.

"You have a long journey ahead of you." She told me just as dispassionately.

"But," I asked, still confused, "why me…?" _Please have answers. Please have answers. _"How do you even know me? Why are you helping me?"

"You'll know." She said soullessly. _Gee, that's helpful. _"Okay."I replied. What else could I say?

"But for now," she stoop up once again. Her face was _still _void of emotion. _Damn it, her face doesn't even twitch. _She bore into me with those unnerving green eyes. "You will stay here. I will provide food. You will not go out."

I sighed. _It's going to be a long stay._

* * *

I stayed for a total of five days. I set out on the evening of the fifth.

During my stay, I realized that she wasn't _just_ emotionless or unresponsive.

She was also downright _**scary**__. _

Derannah had given me a set of rules that I had to obey at her house. Rule one was that I could only eat what she gave me, and nothing else. Once, I had been going through the fridge to see if I could find a snack to eat.

She snuck up behind me out of nowhere. I swear she could be a ninja; her footsteps were _that_ silent.

"And just what," she had said, alerting me from my raid, "do you think _you're _doing?"

Let me just say, it feels really unpleasant to be punched in the face by a middle-aged woman who looked like she had never smiled in her life. That woman is much stronger than she looks.

Rule two was that I was not allowed to go outside. Even a peek outside the window would result in a gruesome punishment (and believe me, I speak from experience). Trust me; "cleaning" this place is more tiring than running away from an army of Marines.

Rule three was the worst. "You will do everything exactly as I tell you to, _or else_." It was more an order than a rule – and trust me. I learned that the creepy, impassive woman also had another trait. She was _very _lazy. I doubt she had completed a chore within the past fifteen years. She had basically used me as a slave for about four days, and by the time I was ready to leave, the entire place barely looked recognizable. She even made me repaint the whole place.

However, creepy though she may be, I can't deny that she did me a great service. By giving me shelter and food, she helped me survive for at least a few days. I also found out that she was an incredible medic, and my fractured arm had healed by the time I was ready to set out.

"I can't help you from today on." She had said, as impassively as usual. "I can only give you this." She gave a dirty rucksack, but when I peered inside, I saw rations that would help me live for at least a week, and also ten bottles of water. "Are you sure I'll need all these?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah. You will." She replied without emotion. She also gave me one more present. She handed me about a thousand Beli (that's the currency here apparently) and told me to look after myself in a dispassionate manner.

"You are to go your own way from today." She had told me.

I didn't have much of a plan, but as I stumbled through the desert outlying Nanohana, I had a goal. I was going to travel, and find information about myself. I will roam through this entire country and return back home as soon as I can.

I scoffed at the warning Derannah had given me. "Be careful if you're going through the desert." What can _sand _do to me? Ha, this is going to be a piece of cake.

I can't wait for all the exciting adventures I'm going to have!

* * *

As the young teenager set out to the desert, a pair of watchful green eyes monitored her from the outskirts of Nanohana. Her curly hair swayed with the desert wind, and she crossed her arms over her plump chest as she watched the girl go. Despite her attitude, she decided that she was going to miss her.

A small smile played on Derannah's lips as she watched her best friend's daughter depart on her journey.

* * *

A certain, shirtless pirate walked through the desert alone. He lifted his head up to observe the orange and yellow rays of the setting sun, and he smiled. _It looks like fire. _

His steps were muffled by the centuries-old sand, and he had his signature orange hat pulled down to hide his face. Blackbeard was not in this country. He was sure of that now, and he had no reason to stay. As soon as he reached the port town again, he was going to steal some old boat and set sail as soon as possible.

As he walked through the sand, his foot caught on something, and he tripped, nearly falling down. In surprise, the dark-haired pirate looked down at his feet. _Is it another desert monster? _

He nudged his feet against the 'something'. It was… softer than a rock or monster, definitely. Curious, he leaned down and started brushing the sand away from the unseen obstacle. The first thing he saw was a pale, slender arm.

_A girl, _he realized. _What's she doing in the middle of the desert? Is she dead? _Surprised, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up to sitting level. She had waist-length black hair. Curious. _Just like that Ruby girl, _he thought, remembering the odd girl that he met in that restaurant in Nanohana. Carefully, he brushed away the dark hair from the girl's face, and exclaimed in surprise at what he saw.

_It __**is **__Ruby! _He felt her pulse, and found a weak reply. _She's alive, but barely. _"Oi." He called, shaking her slightly. "Are you alright, Miss?" She didn't even stir. _What the hell happened to her? What's she doing in the middle of the desert? _

_What the __**hell**__? _

* * *

**A/N: **I just love torturing her, don't I? I wonder if she's going to end up dead. Well, we'll see! As usual, _**please review~!**_^0^


	5. Kidnapped?

**A/N: **Oh my god. This is a new record. I have never ever ever ever ever _ever_ updated anything this fast before. And also, as usual, big big big thanks to my reviewers, _**aqua-empress, MsWildLuck,**_and **pizzafan123**! Cookies and an Ace plushie toy for every last one of you! YAAAAAAAAY. :D

Here's the chapter.

* * *

"_Jason," Ruby had called out to her dark-haired brother one evening after dinner, "why do you love One Piece so much?" Her brother had lifted his head from the Manga he had been reading, his glasses glinting in the glow from the light bulbs. _

"_Why?" He asked, scratching his messy black hair. "Well," he looked down, a bit embarrassed, "I'm not that cool. I mean, I'm not athletic, or popular, or anything." Then he suddenly lifted his head, beaming at his baby sister. "But I do have a group of very close friends." _

'_And a sister I want to protect'. He added inside his head._

"_Luffy and his 'nakama'… I feel like they are a mirror representation of what my friends and I are; inseparable." He grinned. "All of us, against the world. You know what I mean?" _

_Ruby smiled at her brother. "Yeah, I do. But I still think that your anime obsession is weird." _

"_Shut up." _

* * *

When I woke up, the earth was shaking.

_No… it's swaying. _I corrected in my head, looking up at the wooden ceiling of the cabin I was lying in. _The Earth is swaying. _And it was. Aforementioned cabin seemed to be rolling from side to side, and I could hear the floorboards creak as it jumped violently from time to time.

_Where the hell am I? _

I wondered why the earth was swaying. It was a somewhat familiar feeling. I looked down at the bed I was lying in. It was dressed in clean, albeit old, plain white sheets. I sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. My foot hit something as it landed on the ground, and my eyes followed the sensation.

It was my rucksack.

_Wait…_ Wasn't I in the middle of the desert? _What am I doing in a mysterious shaking-cabin? _

_Oh yeah! _I remembered. I set off to the desert to start my adventure… only to be hit by a freak sandstorm fifty minutes later. I remember panicking, because, being Greek, I had no idea about what a sandstorm could do… and then everything had gone black. I had probably fainted.

_But… what happened after that? _

I saw a window on the left side of the cabin. I cautiously walked over to the window, hoping that the cabin won't give another nasty lurch, and opened the curtains.

My eyes widened at what I saw. My breath hitched in my throat, and I nearly started wheezing right then and there. _Oh my god. Oh my god. What happened? What am I doing here? _

_How the hell did I get from lying in the desert to aboard a ship in the middle of the freaking __**ocean**__? _

I ran out of the cabin and ran face-first into a wall. I forgot how to think for a moment, and then my vision blurred. _Oh my god. Oh my god. _I still chanted mentally.

That was when the wall reached out and grabbed hold of my arm, preventing me from falling down. "What are you doing? Calm down." It spoke to me.

_Wait. Walls can't speak. _(No shit.)

I looked up at the person who grabbed hold of my arm. It was Ace. I didn't crash into a wall – I crashed into those bulging pectorals (so they really are as strong as they look). I blinked for a few seconds.

_So… _I thought, looking up at the pirate's freckled face, putting two and two together.

_So, after I fainted, this pirate stumbled upon my body in the desert. And since he is a nasty, terrible and vicious pirate, he thought maybe he could take advantage of me and brought me back to his ship to rape me. And afterwards, when he can no longer abuse the messed-up body of the girl he so violently destroyed, he will hand me over to the marines, because I have a bounty, and because he's poor, and because he desperately needs the money for food. _

_So… _My eyes wandered over my body, doing a quick check-up. _He hasn't seemed to have touched me, yet. 'Calm down?' YOU WANT ME TO __**CALM DOWN**__?!_

_**NO WAY ARE YOU GETTING MY BODY! **_

I then did something that really surprised both Ace _and _me. I don't really know what I was expecting to do, or what I expected to gain, but I really, really wanted to get away from that situation.

I pushed Ace away, and ran to the far side of the boat. I paused by the railing before turning back to Ace. "Listen up, pirate!" I said as rudely as I could as Ace just stood there by the cabin, bewildered. I don't really blame him. "I don't know for what reason you brought me here, or what you plan to do with me," I said fiercely, hiding my fear_. I don't really want to get raped, thank you very much. _"But I'll tell you that I won't have any of it! If you're planning to rape me, I'm going to kill myself, right here and now!"

Okay. So I wasn't _really _planning to kill myself. I know how to swim. But he doesn't have to know that. And this boat can't be _that _far from Arabasta's mainland. Probably. How long was I out?

There was a small silence, aside from my heavy breathing and the sound of the waves as the boat crashed through the deep blue ocean, as Ace pondered what I said.

He then raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Maa, you really _are_ odd." He said, scratching his hair. "I'm not going to rape you." He said, letting out another long sigh. "I brought you here because you were lying in the desert, all by yourself."

_Okay, so at least rape is off the list. _But I was still fuming. "Don't you think that you should have asked me first before you brought me here with you?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. "Did you maybe think that I might have not wanted to come?"

Ace raised his eyebrow again. "You do realize that you were on your deathbed, don't you?" He asked, taking a few steps toward me.

But I wasn't going to have that. I didn't trust the guy, yet. "YOU STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!" I exclaimed, pointing at him. He paused, rolling his eyes. "And no, I was _not _dying!" I said stubbornly. "You should have asked me! I was doing fine by myself. I didn't need your help."

"You didn't?" The dark haired man in front of me said, his color rising. "You think I haven't seen people die?" He said. The atmosphere began to heat up. "You would have died if I hadn't rescued you!" He said heatedly. "What are you being such a prick for?"

"I," I began just as heatedly, "would _not _have died! I was doing _fine _by myself. I never asked you to butt in!"

Ace ruffled his hair and sighed, muttering something I didn't quite catch. All I heard were the words "No point in getting angry" and "Good lord, she's annoying".

"Listen," he said, a bit calmly now. "I wasn't trying to 'butt' in. I was merely trying to save your life. And if you don't think that what I did was good for you, then you keep it to yourself. I don't want to hear it."

His eyes flashed angrily, and a chill ran through my body. I realized that maybe he _was _telling the truth, and I really _would _have died. I did realize it, but that didn't mean I was humble enough to accept the degrading truth. "If you don't want to hear it, then why did you save me in the first place?" I said arrogantly.

Ace crossed his arms over his (well-sculpted) chest and pursed his lips, his dark eyes narrowing in disbelief. I mirrored his expression, and another hush fell over the boat as we glowered at each other angrily. _I really hate this guy. It's just my luck to end up alone on a boat with him. _

_It's his fault I ended up this way in the first place! _

"You know," Ace finally spoke up coldly, turning his back to me, "no one has ever choked to death by swallowing her pride."

I made a face. He had me beat there. I had nothing to say back, so I just stuck my tongue out that ridiculous Jolly Roger of his and turned around to face the ocean.

I sighed. _It's going to be a long journey. _

* * *

Life had taken a really gloomy turn. Ace and I would barely speak at all, and out on the vast, lonely ocean, we rarely met anyone else. If we did, they would consider us insignificant and leave us alone. I learnt later that the ship I was on didn't really belong to Ace. It was an old fisherman's boat that he stole from Nanohana's port.

_That_ conversation hadn't ended up well, either.

"You know," I had begun in an infuriatingly annoying manner, "for the Second Division Commander of Whitebeard's crew, you have a really poor steed." At least, that was true. The ship was very weak, and would probably break apart into pieces if a hurricane hit.

"It's not my ship." Ace had said just as coldly. "I stole it from Nanohana. My ship is way grander, and in way better shape than _this_. It was the best I could get."

"Oh," I said, glad for another opportunity to offend the dark-haired nuisance of a pirate, "so you don't just steal people, do you? You steal ships and boats as well?"

Ace didn't reply. He just rolled his eyes at my stupidity and harrumphed before walking away.

Proud though I may be, I had to admit that having a powerful pirate on board was a huge asset to my journey. Perhaps I didn't get much information from Arabasta (aside from the fact that a creepy lady named Derannah was on my side), but the sea is vast. Maybe traveling with this guy might help me.

But I never mentioned any of this to Ace. Jason had always told me, back at home when I threw a useless tantrum (such as this one), that pride and conceit were the original sins of man. However, I never listened to him then, and I wasn't about to start doing so now.

I smiled as I thought of Jason. _How jealous would he be of me, right now? _I wondered. But then I thought sadly that I might never see him again. No matter. I would die trying.

So I sucked up my happiness and tainted my face with resentment as I traveled through the Grand Line with the dark-haired, freckled pirate.

I comforted myself with the thought that I would return home someday, and kept on pushing forward. _I __**will **__get back. _

* * *

Three nights later, I struggled to keep myself warm as I slept inside the cabin (Like hell I would sleep outside and let that god damn pirate sleep in royalty). I knew it was a particularly cold night since I could even see my own breath. I wrapped the white sheets around my body and tried to go to sleep.

No such luck.

Eventually, (still having the sheets wrapped around me) I got up and walked outside, wondering how my dark-haired associate was doing. Not that I cared. All I wanted to see was how he kept warm.

So, shivering, I pushed open the door and walked outside to find Ace sitting against the wooden wall of the cabin, shivering only slightly as he blew into a ball of flames in his hands.

_Oh yeah. _I keep forgetting the fact that he was made of fire. _He has that stupid Devil's Fruit power. _

I stood there freezing and observing the temptingly warm-looking ball of heat in Ace's hands. As usual, Ace completely disregarded my presence.

_Go back inside. _A little voice in my head said. I probably should, too. I was getting even colder standing outside. I touched the door to the cabin and then hesitated for a moment.

_It really looks warm. _

A particularly cold draught swept over the ship, and I shivered. My teeth started chattering and I couldn't take my eyes off the ball of fire in Ace's hands. I bit my frozen lip and scratched my cheek in thought.

_Damn it. _

"A-Ace," I called out timidly.

"Hm?" The young pirate grunted, still not looking my way as he blew into the flames in his hands. _So… warm. _I was freezing. A fire wouldn't be so bad right now.

"C-Can I h-h-have some of th-th-that?" I chattered, barely audible. Ace fell silent for a moment, and I knew he was pondering whether he should help me or not. I couldn't blame him, since the last time he _did_ help me, it only gave him a huge headache.

Ace sighed. "Sure," he finally replied reluctantly, just as quietly as I asked him. _Well, this ought to be interesting._

I stood there stupidly, not quite knowing what to do. I rubbed my shoulders beneath the white sheet wrapped around my body like a cocoon. "Um…" I started quietly, looking down. Being humble wasn't really my thing. I didn't know what to do in situations like this.

Ace sighed and motioned to the floor next to him. "Sit." He said simply. _Are we actually having a civil conversation? _Part of my mind wondered as I shakily went over to sit next to the fire-user.

Almost immediately, my body started heating up. _Good heavens, he's really warm. _As to be expected of a man _literally_ made from fire.

We sat there awkwardly, watching the flames dance in Ace's hands. I've never been this close to this guy before.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, I unwound the blanket wrapped around me carefully and held it out to him. "We can share." I said stupidly. Oh my god, this is so embarrassing.

"A-Ah," Ace coughed, "Sure. We'll, um, share." He replied just as stupidly.

_Well. This is interesting. _

Ace wrapped the white blanket around the both of us as tightly as he could, and I felt all the blood rush to my face. _But not because I'm shy or embarrassed or anything_, I assured myself. _It's the heat. Definitely._

It w_as _pretty warm. With a layer of insulation around the both of us, Ace's naturally high body heat heated up the air inside the blanket, and soon, I was feeling pretty cozy.

"I guess we don't need this anymore." Ace said softly, extinguishing the flames in his hands immediately. His hands now free, he stuffed them awkwardly inside the blanket, heating up the air even more. I realized Ace was also feeling pretty uncomfortable with the awkward position we were in. I was sort of curled up into a ball, trying to avoid contact with him as much as possible, and it wasn't what you would call _ideal_.

All of a sudden, it wasn't so cold anymore. In fact, it felt _very_ warm. I realized that neither of us was going to be able to sleep if we stay like this. And I'd seriously rather spend a night shivering and chattering alone then spend it awkwardly, barely talking to this giant of a man that I don't even know.

_So. Embarrassing. _

It was really the last thing I wanted to do, but I gritted my teeth and did it anyway. I unwound my arms from around my knees and curled up against Portgas D. Ace.

He stiffened when he felt me lean against his arm. Just as surprised as I was, he spent a moment observing me. I purposely avoided his eyes, and looked down at the floor rather than at the man next to me. _Maa, this is so embarrassing! _

But, instead of asking me if I was crazy, like I expected him to, he relaxed. Then, carefully, he wrapped his arm around me (increasing the heat of the situation tenfold).

I blushed. _But it's only because it suddenly got so hot. _Right.

_This. Is. So. Embarrassing. _

But I sucked it up and snuggled against Ace's warm form, anyway. It was surprising comfortable. I wondered for a moment whether he might try and do something I didn't want him to do, but then let the thought go.

The last thing I remembered before I fell asleep was Ace's words from a few days ago. _No one has ever choked to death by swallowing her pride. _

_Well, _I thought, _the man who didn't value his own pride couldn't value anything or anyone else, did he? _

But maybe, just maybe, Portgas D. Ace might be someone to be valued.

* * *

**A/N: **So I decided to end this chapter on a happy note for our OC. It won't do to torture her all the time, will it?

I'll update soon! ^_^ Ja ne, minna-san! :D


	6. Chills

**A/N: **I'm not that satisfied with this chapter. It's very short; but mostly out of necessity. Bwahahahhahaha! You'll find out why. ^_~ As usual, big big thanks to my reviewers; _**MsWildLuck, pizzafan123, frostmoon13, aqua-empress, SilentScreaming1944**_and _**AceIsNotDead**_! I love you guys. :D

Also, I've suddenly started to watch two other anime at the same time, and I keep getting preoccupied. T_T Gomen ne, minna-san. But I'll try to update again as soon as I can! ^_^

* * *

It was a lovely, albeit wintry, morning. The white, white color of the freshly falling snow stood out in contrast to the bright cobalt blue color of the Grand Line. It was beautiful scenery, and would have been quite a sight to any ship that had been passing by.

Any ship except for ours, though. The atmosphere on ours was way too awkward to enjoy such a lovely sight.

I've been in many awkward situations before. Of course; I mean, High School is basically an intricate death trap laid out with awkward situations.

But – and that's a _big_ but – it doesn't get more awkward than this.

Imagine yourself in my shoes for just a moment. So there's this guy you barely know (a guy who just happens to be a world renown criminal) and very, very cold temperatures. Said guy has special powers which enable him to literally radiate heat, so – upon necessity – you warm yourself up by sleeping _**next**_to him for just one night.

That doesn't sound so bad, does it?

Oh, but that's not all. (Did I mention that this guy is a criminal? I did? Yeah, okay.) You wake up the next morning to find your lips _literally _inches away from said criminal's lips, and unlike the night before, you're curled up on his lap comfortably, with his arms around you. (I told you guys I barely know him, right?)

What did you say? You guys find it _cute_? DO YOU THINK MY PREDICAMENT IS _**FUNNY**__? _

At least before, when we were mad at each other, we didn't have this urgent need to break the silence. After days of peace and quiet, it suddenly feels very odd to be pressured into conversation.

Even right now, as Ace awkwardly navigated the ship, I stood at the bow, trying to forget his presence.

_God damn it, god damn it, god damn it; say something, will you? _

"U-um, Ace," I said finally, turning around to face the dark-haired pirate, "I'm going to say this once, so just listen, okay?"

Said pirate looked up from the '_Log Pose' _(or so I found out it was called) on his wrist to glance at me, only to break eye contact after a millisecond. "Yes?"

I took a deep breath. _Here it goes. I think this is the first time I ever did this voluntarily. _

"Okay, so I'm really, really sorry about throwing that silly tantrum over nothing. You were right, and I was—" I choked dramatically on my words, forcing them to come out, "—w-w-wrong."

I saw Ace smile underneath the brim of his (slightly acceptable, compared to that ugly orange one) black hat. (Apparently he likes wearing black during cold weather. He's such a weirdo). "You were what?"

I glared at him subconsciously. _Damn it, pirate. Don't test me. _"I was wrong. You were only trying to help me, and I overreacted because I was –" Once again, I choked dramatically, "—s-stupid."

Ace's smile widened, and then all of a sudden he was down on his knees, laughing.

_What? _

"W-What?" I asked, annoyed. "What are you laughing about?"

Still laughing, he straightened up, and beamed at me. "I knew it," he smirked at me and lifted the brim of his hat up with his finger (an action I've begun to associate as one of his trademarks), beaming. _What did you know, baka? _

"You," he leaned against the railing and looked up at the falling snow, "really are a very odd girl."

I stood there, observing quietly. _Um. Okay, whatever. _"I'm not particularly sure whether that's an insult or a compliment." I noticed my breath produced white clouds of steam. It's still very cold. I was already wrapped in every piece clothing (besides Ace's black overcoat, which he didn't let me use. Currently, he was wearing that over his usual attire) and sheet that we could salvage from the boat, but I was still shivering.

"Take it as a statement." Ace said, still grinning.

_Okay, um, whatever. This is just really, really weird. How the hell am I supposed to reply to this? _

"The, um, weather seems to be stabilizing." I said wittily, rubbing my shoulders. It's just my luck that it stabilized on the cold side. _Maybe the cold is affecting my brain. _

"Yeah," Ace said (thank god he changed the subject), walking over to the bow of the deck where I was. He had an odd smile on his face. "We're reaching an island," he narrowed his eyes as he observed the view from the bow. "It's barely thirty minutes away, now. Can you see it?"

_What the hell is up with him, today? He sure is acting pretty weird. _I squinted into the hazy horizon anyway. I barely managed to make out the silhouette of a small island. "Do you think it's inhabited?" I asked.

"Yeah," Ace nodded, "I've been here before. It's called 'Winterhawk Island'. It has one town; and it's fairly close to the shoreline."

_Huh. _I wondered if Ace brought us here on purpose. "Why are we here?" I questioned curiously.

"Oh yeah," Ace said, still staring into the island, "I heard rumors from Arabasta that Blackbeard had been here before. Maybe I can find out where he is."

_Blackbeard? _Ace never mentioned a Blackbeard before. I stole a glance at the freckled man next to me. I noticed his cheeks were slightly pink with the cold. _Or was it excitement? _I noticed that his fists clenched an unclenched as he gazed at the island with fervor.

_But still_, I thought, _Blackbeard, huh? Why does that name sound so familiar? Ace is looking for a Blackbeard. _

_What happens next? Does Ace succeed? _Somehow, I didn't think so. But I wasn't sure. _Ace wins… right? I mean, he's Whitebeard's commander. He has to be freakishly strong. _I realized I'd never seen him in combat before.

I felt slightly ticked off. This was the same feeling I got when I stared at a question on an exam paper and didn't know the answer to something I should have known. _Who the hell is Blackbeard? _

"Why are you looking for Blackbeard?" I inquired.

"He killed my subordinate. I'm going to avenge his death." He said, without even flinching. I stared at him. _This is human lives we're talking about, here. _

_But still, _I mused, still irked, _who __**is**__ Blackbeard?_

* * *

_God damn that stupid pirate. I hate him. I __**hate **__his guts._

I sighed, looking around the beautiful island wistfully. It was a 'Winter Island' (as Ace had said), and so the island is almost always cold and wintry. The evergreen trees lining the harbor had white piles of snow lying atop, and the port seemed so quiet that it was almost eerie. It still hadn't stopped snowing.

The only ship in the harbor was our small fishing boat. And the only person here was me.

_I hate him so much. Who does he think he is, ordering me around? _

I sighed again. Ace had told me to stay on the ship, and that he would be "back before sundown". That is so unfair. I want to see the island too. _But __**seriously**__, I'm not his property, he can't order me around!_ I grumbled moodily as I sat on the deck of the ship and stared around grumpily.

_So that's why he let me sit next to him last night. _Then I'd feel indebted to him, and I couldn't say no to his vicious and pirate-like criminal commands. _It all makes sense now! _

_God, I __**hate **__him. _

I sighed moodily. I'm sure I'll see nothing interesting, today. I got up from the deck and walked over to the railing of the ship. I rested my elbow on it and stared out at the gray, gray ocean. _Nothing interesting is going to happen, anyway. Maybe I should go sleep. _

It was at that moment that I heard a loud creak, and something seemed to shake from underneath our ship. Immediately, I panicked, falling back (on my butt) onto the deck of the ship. _What the hell? A sea monster? _

I discovered from Ace that sea monsters exist in this world – and weren't uncommon in this sea. He had said it nonchalantly, but I'm glad he didn't see my face. _I was so glad I didn't meet with one of those. I don't want to see one now! I'm going to be eaten! _

Then, without any warning besides a splash of water, a large yellow ship rose up from _underneath _the sea. I shrieked and skittered back, staring at the sight before me. _What the actual—_

The mysterious yellow boat swayed precariously a few times before stabilizing on the ocean, sending sprays of salt water onto the deck of our (comparatively) tiny fishing boat. It was certainly an oddly shaped yellow boat. It had a mysterious orange smiley face painted across the side of it. _People here are so odd. _It even had the word 'Death' painted near the smiley. _Pirates, maybe? _

I sat on the deck, petrified, as a group of people got out on the deck. A man wearing a fuzzy spotted hat (with matching spotted jeans ((once again, a symbol of the weird fashion that men here are into))) and a yellow hoodie seemed to be the leader (The rest of them were wearing boiler suits (they were even uglier than Ace's hat)). He had a **ridiculously** long sword swung over his back (_I sure as hell don't want to tick this man off_), and he seemed so familiar that an electric current ran up my spine.

_Who is that man? _I mused curiously.

And then that man turned this way, letting me see his face (he seemed to regard me as insignificant). He didn't glance this way even once.

My blood chilled, and time seemed to stop as I saw that man's face. For a second, the only two people in this world seemed to be me, and that man. _Why? What is up with him? Why is he making me feel like this?_

The tall, slim man standing before me… _Who the hell is he?_ I pinched myself, willing this to be a nightmare. Why is this man scaring me so much?

"Captain Law!" One of his crewmates called out to him. _Law… his name is Law. _I wanted to know everything I could about that man.

_But why? _

My blood chilled again as I realized what was about that man that horrified me so much.

He had my eyes. This Law…

_His eyes are exactly like mine. _

_What the…?_

* * *

**A/N: **Bwahahahahahhahhaha! Cliffhanger! I wonder what the secret behind this is? Please do let me hear your thoughts.  
xoxo,  
aikawushererawr.


	7. Frenzy

_Damn it, why didn't I follow him while I had the chance? _

While I was stunned, Law and his crewmates had jumped off the ship and walked away into the city, leaving me alone with a ridiculously bright yellow ship.

_Or rather… _I thought as I stared at the mysterious ship… _I think it's a submarine. _

I laughed to myself. Even in my stunned situation, I found it ironic that there was a real live _Yellow Submarine _in this world. Perhaps even the Beatles had the misfortune to have been teleported to this world?

But then I thought, _Nah. Law and his crew must be way younger than that – and so is this submarine. _

I snapped back to reality. I just saw a man who had the same eyes as I had. I found the prospect nearly impossible. I don't have any relatives here. I'm from a completely different dimension. _But then why… _- my blood chilled again - … _why does that man have the same eyes as I do? It can't be a coincidence. _

About twenty minutes had passed since Law and his crewmates disappeared from my eyesight. It can't be that long yet. _Maybe I can catch up to them. _

As I got ready to dismount from the ship, I remembered what Ace had said. "Stay here. I'll be back before sundown." _Maybe he said that for a reason? _

I paused nervously. _No. He probably said it just to tick me off. It's just the kind of thing a pirate like him would do. _

_Besides, _I thought excitedly as I jumped off the fisherman's boat, _I need answers. This may be crucial to my getting back. _

Thinking so, I ran off into the white, hazy road after the group of pirates that I just saw. _This is going to be a piece of cake. I can run pretty fast, after all._

* * *

**SIX HOURS LATER::ACE POV **

About six hours later, when the slight orange rays of the sun was breaking through the many white snow clouds that dotted the horizon, Portgas D. Ace returned to his boat, only to find the deck empty. Surprised, he scratched her head, looking for his dark-haired acquaintance. _Maybe she's in the cabin_, he thought nervously, _surely she didn't run off? This island is famous for bounty hunters… what if she attracted some? _

He eyed the yellow submarine suspiciously. _Pirates, _he thought, noticing the odd Jolly Roger. It was similar to that of Donquixote Doflamingo's. _Did they take her?_

He knocked on the cabin slightly. _She could be asleep. _Upon getting no reply, he pushed open the door, only to find it empty. _Ruby's rucksack is missing._ He realized as he observed the room.

_So she really did run off. _

He sighed exasperatedly, and jumped back off the ship. _However I look at it, she just keeps getting in my way. _

But he noticed irritably that he wanted to save her sorry ass anyway.

* * *

**RUBY POV **

By the time six hours had passed, I was pissed, hungry and exhausted – and I still hadn't even seen those slippery pirates even once. _Maybe I just imagined it all. _Yes, that's probably it. That makes sense. I probably imagined seeing those men. The cold _was _getting to my head.

I turned around to go back to the ship, but then realized one thing.

_I don't know how to get back. _

I stared at the alleyway I had ended up in. _How did I even get here? _The last thing I remember is walking down a main road. I have no idea how to get back. I walked out of the alley and looked down the long road. It was lined with houses. _The town isn't that big… _Maybe if I just walk enough, I'll end up back at the port.

_Yes, that makes sense. _So thinking, I set off again.

* * *

**/Around Midnight**

"Captain Law," a man clad in a boiler suit and a casquette cautiously (and quietly) called out to their captain, a dark haired man who was currently lost in deep thought as he twirled a piece of paper between his fingers. The citizens were talking about the blizzard that had been forecasted for later that night – and so, rarely anyone was outside. The Heart Pirates had found refuge from the cold in a shady-looking bar, without many occupants.

"Captain," the man hissed again, but his captain, Trafalgar Law, was lost in deep thought. _Who's following me? _He wondered suspiciously. More than once he had sensed a shadow chasing after him, but turning around, he never seemed to see anyone.

_They could be bounty hunters. _The inquisitive pirate mused; not even hearing his subordinate, _the bartender here mentioned something about this town being filled with bounty hunters. _

He sighed, and leaned back in his chair. _But, _Law smirked, crushing the paper in his hands, _if they want my head; they have a surprise waiting for them. _

"Captain," the man called out again, this time beseechingly. It was nearly midnight, and if the blizzard hit, they would never be able to get back to their submarine.

"Guys, let's go." Their captain finally said, standing up. He swung his Nodachi over his back and started heading towards the door. The rest of his crewmates got up and followed obediently, but the man in the casquette grumbled quietly over how self-centered his captain could be, sometimes.

* * *

**RUBY POV**

It was midnight, and I was still not on the ship. I sighed. _At least I'm close. _I had reached the ocean at around 10pm – it had been miles away from the town. Now, I'm sticking as close as I can to the perimeter of the island; if I walk enough, I'll find the port anyway.

I sighed once more. I admit it; I'm feeling pretty dejected. I came so close to discovering something crucial about myself, but it slipped between my fingers. I hung my head low and shuffled along the coastline of Winterhawk Island, not even bothering about the few snowflakes that fell on my hair. I would have felt really cold if I wasn't so depressed.

I looked up, and saw the port in the distance. _Phew. Finally – I hope Ace isn't so mad._

* * *

**ACE POV **

_Damn it, damn it, where is she? _Ace was panicking by now. It had been several hours and he still hadn't even seen her. He had run over the entire town, assuming that she went there. _She didn't seem so adventurous. I don't think she'd go exploring in the forest. _

_She can't have just disappeared. _

He checked inside every bar and every alleyway, but she wasn't there. Finally, while he was searching through the outskirts of the town, where most of the bounty hunters hung around, he heard a group of people laughing pretty loudly. He turned towards them irritably. _What are these idiots laughing so loudly over? It's rude. They're pissing me off. _

"You're kidding?" One of them sneered as Ace looked their way. "No, I'm serious," another one of them wheezed, "7 million Beli worth of easy cash, I swear!"

_7 million? _Ace was very interested, by now. He narrowed his eyes at the shady group of men sitting near a run-down bar. _It can't be Ruby… could it? _

"Yeah!" The first man said, slapping his hand on his forehead, "I remember now! That runaway girl; Ruby, isn't it?"

Ace narrowed his eyes as he walked over to the men, cracking his knuckles. _I'm going to kill her when I find her! I __**told **__her to stay on the ship!_

* * *

**TWO HOURS LATER**

_Hmph. That pirate sure is selfish. _I thought with irritation. He asked me to stay on the ship – that he'll be back by 'sundown'. "'Back by sundown?'" I said to myself in annoyance. "My ass!" It's already past midnight, and that stupid pirate still isn't here.

You know what? I'm so glad I went after that Law dude. So what if I didn't get any information… _yet? _– I eyed the yellow submarine suspiciously (they have to come back sooner or later; I'll just confront that captain when that happens) – I'm so glad I didn't just stay on this ship.

_I get the last laugh, Portgas D. Ace, _I thought triumphantly, _you thought you could make me do what you want? Hah! I laugh at your impudence! _I brought up my knees to my chin and curled up as I leant against the cabin of the deck, sighing. _I've already traveled with this idiot for about a week, and he still isn't trustworthy. _

_Come to think of it, _I suddenly realized, _why is he letting me stay, anyway? _There are a few pros to my staying here, since there was no way in hell I could survive on my own, but I've never really done anything helpful to Ace before.

_He must have an ulterior motive._

_There's no way a pirate can be nice. _

I eyed the yellow submarine. _I sure hope that Captain Law isn't ruthless_. Even if he is, I crossed my fingers and hoped that he would have mercy on a stupid little sixteen-year-old.

I sighed, shivering a bit. _When is that idiot going to come back? It's so cold. _Realizing that there was no way I would be able to stand it outside the cabin, I went inside. It was slightly warmer, but only a bit.

I walked over to the cabin window, turning my back to the door. I sighed dreamily. _Maa, this country really is beautiful. _My eyes ran over the dark abyss of the ocean, and the slight moon glade that reflected off the ripples. It wasn't snowing anymore, but there was a hazy mist that settled over the ocean.

_It's so mysterious. _

It was almost eerie. I lost myself in my thoughts for a moment again, losing sense of my surroundings. I exhaled, and my breath fogged up the glass slightly. _I wonder if they're looking for me. _

_I wonder if Jason and the others care whether I'm gone or not? And Miki… of course. Miki's going to miss me a lot. _I smiled as I thought of my tanned, athletic friend. _I wonder how she's doing. I wonder if Mom and Dad miss me. _

_Jason. _

_I wonder if Jason misses me. _

I was jolted back to reality by the sound of the door slamming open. I swung my head back, surprised. _Who…? _

"And just where," a certain, dark-haired pirate stood by the door, clenching and unclenching his fists, "have you been?"

I glared at him, turning around to face him. "That's my question! I've been on this boat the whole day!" I lied blatantly.

Ace's eyes flashed a bit angrily. "You're lying? I came here at sundown, just as I promised – and you weren't here. There was a reason I told you to stay, you idiot!" He was yelling now. I wanted to cower in fear, but I didn't let him see any weakness.

"How do I know you're not lying? I bet you never came!" I shot back just as heatedly.

Ace pinched the bridge of his nose testily. "You know, Ruby. You have a problem." He said, as if he just realized this. "I was only trying to save your life!"

I sighed. _What was wrong with this guy?_ "What the hell is wrong with you? _I'm _the one with a problem?" I took a few steps towards him, until our noses were almost touching. "I think you're the one with the _problem_! You have some weird hero complex!"

_But maybe he's telling the truth… what if he really was trying to save me? _

_Whatever, _I thought, narrowing my eyes hatefully at the pirate in front of me, _I can't let him hurt my pride! _

Ace sighed once more, and then went out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him. "You know," I heard his muffled yell. "You're a real prick!"

"SO ARE YOU!" I yelled back, and then sighed.

_Things are going to get awkward around here, again. _

* * *

**A/N: **So I am not that happy with this chapter. But I really need to update, because I might not be able to do so for a while. v_v Sad. I have a National Tournament coming up (on December 6th), so practices are pretty frequent, and when I'm actually home, I'm too tired to do anything. D:

But I hope you guys liked it anyway! ^~^ As usual, please, please review! :D Big big thanks to my reviewers, _**pizzafan123, MsWildLuck, aqua-empress, SilentScreaming1944, AceIsNotDead,** _and thanks to all the Guest reviews as well~ ^_^

I'll still try to update soon! T_T


	8. Chaos

**A/N: **This chapter actually is pretty serious! :O SURPRISE SURPRISE! It's also kind of long, to make up for my slow updates. Gomen, minna-san! v_v I'll continue updating at my usual rate when this tournament finishes, ne? I hope you all aren't too fed up with me. T_T Please please do keep reviewing - it's what keeps me going!

And, as usual, big big thanks to **_MsWildLuck_****, _pizzafan123, SilentScreaming1944, aqua-empress_**and _**frostmoon13**!_ I really love you guys - and your reviews as well. Thank you so much.

This is a very... chaotic chapter - so please do review! Hehehehehhehe I hope you like it! :) Here you go.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, I was still fuming.

For a moment, I actually forgot why, and then the previous night's argument came back to me in a flash.

"_You're a real prick!" _

A muscle in my jaw twitched in irritation. _Stupid pirate. _

For a moment, I lay in my bed, listening to the _swish-swish _of the rolling waves as the fishing boat cut through the sea. The boat swayed from side to side slightly – but not in a dizzying manner. It was actually kind of soothing, as if the ocean was trying to calm me down.

Well, it _would _have been relaxing – under different circumstances.

I jolted up in my bunk and ran towards the window. I let out a groan at what I saw. _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I HATE THAT PIRATE SO MUCH! _

My hands pulled at my hair in frustration. _Nooooo! This can't be happening. _It was my one chance – my _only _chance… and that stupid, stupid, _stupid _pirate ruined everything!

I had wanted to stay awake, and wait until Law and his crew came back to their submarine, but I was just so pissed at Ace that I curled up in my bunk and fell asleep anyway. I had expected that we would stay anchored to the port until the next morning.

What I hadn't expected was that hotheaded pirate would set sail without even enquiring me about it.

_This really sucks. _

I opened the door to the front deck and paused, leaning slightly against the wooden frame. _How dare that idiot? _I glared at the stupid Jolly Roger on Portgas D. Ace's back as he observed the distant horizon, his hat tipped down to hide his face. _I came __**this **__close to finding something about myself, and he just went and ruined it. _

_I hate him so, so much. _

"Ace," I snapped, "what do you think you're doing?" I started walking towards the dark-haired pirate. I glanced once at the overcast sky uneasily_. _The black clouds rolled ominously over my head, and the wind seemed to be picking up._ I don't want to be in the middle of the ocean when that monster hits._

I heard him sigh, not even bothering to turn around. "What did I do now?" He asked, exasperatedly. I raised an eyebrow. _What? You're not going to be all defensive? _

I pursed my lips. "Why did you leave the island without asking me about it first?"

At this, he glanced back at me, an eyebrow raised. "I didn't realize you needed to stay. You never told me not to leave."

_True. _"But I never asked you to leave." And for like the bazillionth time, I added, "You really should've asked me first, ne?" Geez, why can't he learn that I want to be asked first before he does stuff like this? This is like tenth time I've told him this! It's the root of **all** our arguments! "_You should've asked me first."_

Ace took off his hat and ran a hand through his dark waves before turning around to face me in all his shirtless glory. _Geez, okay, I know you have pectorals – but it won't hurt to wear a shirt every once in a while, would it? _

"Why is it that you always have to make things troublesome for me?" He sighed wearily. He seemed like he was through with my tempers. "Why can't you be a normal girl," he grimaced, "and just shut up?"

I blinked. That was a bit harsh. But then again, I haven't exactly been polite, either."What do you mean, a _normal_ girl?" I asked curiously, actually forgetting to be hostile.

Ace looked at me, and I saw from the dark circles under his eyes that he was very exhausted. For some odd reason, it seemed like he didn't sleep much at all the previous night. "You're always so defensive. What is it with you and that stupid pride of yours?"

_Stupid pride? _I was taken aback, and I couldn't really do much besides stare. _What is he talking about? Is that what I'm really like? _

"A normal girl would have been afraid of me." He crossed his arms over his chest before he leaned against the railing of the boat. With his (ugly) orange hat out of the way, it wasn't hard to miss the dark circles underneath his eyes. _What kept him up last night? _I couldn't help but wonder.

"I'm one of the commanders of Whitebeard's crew; a crew that's feared worldwide." He elaborated.

"But," I said, because my mouth finally started working, "You're not even remotely scary." I scratched my cheek in thought. "Hell," I said, just to piss him off, "I'm not sure you're even strong."

Ace rolled his eyes, not even bothering to quirk back. Do I really seem that annoying to him?_ I'm not that annoying. Tch, he's about twice as annoying as I am! It's not fair. It's not like I asked him to let me come with him! He dragged me along, and now I have no choice but to stick to him! _

It had started to drizzle lightly, by that point. I barely glanced up once at the still dark sky before I returned to glaring at the pirate.

"Ruby," Ace sighed, "I'm really tired of your pointless tantrums."

_The nerve of him! _"Then kill me! Throw me overboard!" I glared at him, subconsciously moving forward until we were nose to nose. "Why are you even dragging me along, anyway? I didn't ask you to do this." My eyes bore into his dark ones, but I saw nary a flicker of emotion. He had given up on trying talking sense into me, apparently.

"I thought we agreed on the fact that I had saved your life." Ace said tiredly, placing his hand on my forehead and pushing my face away gently. He reminded me of an annoyed father who was sick of her 2-year-old daughter's tantrums. This ticked me off even more.

"So, what?" I sighed. "Does that make me indebted to you? Am I your _slave _now?" I said heatedly. I felt the water soak through my clothes as the rain started falling harder. I glared at Ace, who didn't even reply. "Well?" I pushed.

"I never said anything of the sort." The dark-haired pirate sighed. "Honestly, what's wrong with you? Calm down."

But I was already on a rampage. "There's nothing wrong with _me_!" It had honestly started to pour, now, and the tiny little fishing boat started to sway a bit harder than usual. "Why do people always assume I'm some kind of freak?" I felt my eyes fill up with tears.

Whatever, it's raining. It's not like he'll notice.

I glowered at him furiously. "What would _you _know about me? You know absolutely nothing! You don't know what I've been through, or where I'm from, or the hardships I've suffered through or… or anything! You don't know anything, so just shut the hell up, you stupid pirate!" I felt my hands curl up into fists at my sides.

Ace looked at me curiously. "I never called you a freak." Apparently, that was all he got out of my furious ramble.

I fixed him with a fierce look, blinking vigorously_. I'm not going to cry._ "You might as well be calling me one. It's not like I'm not used to it!" I yelled at him over the downpour, my voice breaking slightly as the tears escaped.

Honestly, I'm sick of this. I teleport to another dimension, and people _still _call me freaky – and I thought that I might actually be considered normal now, taking into account the fact that I have boobs now. But _no, no, no; _I'm not allowed to be 'lucky'. Life just hates me.

It's not my fault, okay? I just _get_ mad – and I can't really do anything about what I say when I get mad. Having '_anger issues_' does not make me a _FREAK._

_Does it? _

The dark-eyed pirate stared at me concernedly. "You're crying." He pointed out.

_Dang it, how'd he know? _"I-I'm not," I sniffled, "it's just the rain." I bit my lip, trying to keep in the tears I had been holding in for several weeks. _You know what? I give up. I give up trying to be tough because I just can't do this anymore. _

Ace blinked, bewildered. "Hey, hey, I'm sorry." He said anxiously, reaching out towards me.

"I'm **fine**!" I yelled, swatting his hand away. Almost in direct correlation to my emotions, the steady rain deepened into a downpour, and we were both drenched in a matter of seconds. I took a few steps back, trying not to sob.

I looked down at my feet. _Great – now I'm a freak __**and **__a crybaby. Just wonderful. _

I shivered slightly in the rain._ Is it me or is the weather getting even more rough?_ I noted offhandedly.

I heard a sigh, but I didn't bother to look up. I expected him to either complain about how unusual I was (like always), or tell me to suck it up and stop being a wuss. I bit my lip as I tried to keep the tears in. But much to my surprise, he did neither.

I felt his huge hand ruffle the hair on top of my head, and then, before I realized it, I was staring head on at those dark eyes. The overly tall pirate had leaned down to look me in my eyes. Despite myself, I blushed between my sniffles. _It's only because he radiates that heat, of course._

"You're not a freak." He said, smiling slightly. I blinked in surprise. _I'm not? _

I wiped my face with my forearm, looking down. Everything felt way too hot, all of a sudden. "S-stop laughing at me." I mumbled, a lot quieter than I usually would've been. _What's wrong with me? _Where's my usual bravado?

The hand on my head traveled down my hair to rest on my shoulder. Tentatively, I looked up at the man in front of me. _Damn it, why is it so hot all of a sudden? It's raining! _"I'm not laughing at you." He smiled again, and I couldn't help but notice that he had a really, really nice smile.

I had been subconsciously holding in my breath, but as soon as Ace took his hand off my shoulder and backed away a step, I exhaled. I felt my body temperature decrease to its normal level. _Stupid pirate. _

The rain slowed down to a drizzle again. My breathing slowed, and I felt myself calming down. I was still looking at my feet, slightly embarrassed.

"You know," Ace said, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him turn around to face the ocean again, "we probably are going to have to spend a lot of time together. It wouldn't hurt to talk to me civilly every once in a while."

_Spend a lot of time together? _"You mean," I said, finally looking up, "you're not going to kick me off the boat?"

Ace laughed lightly – and with surprise I noted that he had a very nice laugh, as well. I felt the heat rush to my cheek again. _What's going on? _I thought curiously.

_Is it possible that I'm actually feeling… shy? Around him? No way. It's just his body heat. Stupid fire-using pirate._

"That was never my intention." He said. I noticed that his massive shoulders slumped slightly. He must be feeling very tired.

"Oh." I said simply, shuffling my feet. "Well… okay. I'm…" I whispered this last part, "sorry for shouting at you." I coughed, scratching my cheek in thought. There. I said it. Sorry.

"It's okay." He sighed.

I turned my back on the dark-haired pirate and walked back towards the cabin, feeling a bit awkward. "Um," I said, pausing at the door, "Ace?"

"Hm?" He grunted, not tearing his eyes away from the ocean.

I opened the door and before I closed it behind me, I murmured, "Th-Thanks." I said this part very, very quietly, but I know he heard me, because he looked back at me and smiled.

I blinked. _How come his smile is so nice? _

Everything felt very hot again, all of a sudden, so I just shut the door and went to sit on the bunk. I curled up against the wooden wall and hid my face between my knees.

_Everything is just so confusing. _

I sighed, and closed my eyes, hoping my clothes would dry out soon. Before I knew it, I fell asleep, tired out from the argument I just had.

_Maybe a nap might help._

* * *

In my dream, I was floating in the middle of nowhere. I looked around – I was lost in space. The endless celestial bodies seemed to stare back at me. I cowered in fear, feeling insignificant. The dark, dark black of the velvety sky seemed to blanket every direction I could see. I couldn't move. I was completely helpless – and stuck. I was lost in somewhere completely foreign to me.

And then, all of a sudden, I started moving against my will. I managed to tilt my head down – towards the direction I was moving to. I tried helplessly to fight the vortex that was sucking me in, but it was stronger.

Fear gripped me at once, and I tried to scream – scream as loud as I can. But nothing came out. Undiluted panic pumped through my veins, and I struggled to the best of my power against the darkness.

The black hole was stronger. I could do nothing besides wriggle helplessly as I was sucked into the dark, dark hole.

I screamed, and then everything went black.

* * *

When I woke up, I was shivering. I was actually shivering with fear. What the hell kind of a dream was that? I thought I was stuck in the world of One Piece, not a twisted sci-fi horror movie!

On a positive note, it seemed like my clothes had dried out. I let out a deep breath. I was still shaking, terrified by my nightmare. _So much for 'helping', _I thought, irritated, _all that nap did was scare the shit out of me! _

I got off the bed, and willed myself to calm down. It worked, slightly, but the adrenaline still pumped through my blood. Honestly, that was one hell of a really weird dream.

I shakily walked towards the lone window on the side of the tiny cabin. But before I could get there, the boat gave a very violent lurch, and I fell onto my butt (ow), and onto the floor.

_What the hell? _

All of a sudden, I heard a torrent of raindrops splatter against the roof of the cabin. I saw a spray of water violently splash against the window. _W-What the hell? _

I tried to get up, but as soon as I did, the boat shook violently again. I grabbed the doorknob to keep from falling down, but I hit the door, sending a jolt of pain through my body. The downpour continued violently, and the tiny boat shook and lurched.

_Is this a hurricane? What's going on? _

Another spray of water spattered against the window violently. Hoping to god that the boat won't give another nasty lurch, I opened the door to find Ace. How the hell is this weak fishing boat going to survive this wicked hurricane?

Since life hates me, the boat did give a nasty lurch, and I fell onto the main deck on all fours as the door slammed shut behind me. The great downpour attacked my skin (I _honestly_ had no idea water could hurt this much) and I let out a cry as the vicious wind whipped my long hair against my face.

"Ace!" I yelled over the downpour, scanning the deck. The torrent of falling rain was making it really difficult to see.

As I stared, I saw a humongous (it was safely as twice as big as our boat) wave rise up barely a few meters in front of the bow of our ship, and then crash down onto the wild waters below. My blood chilled. If that wave had hit us…

There's no doubt that we would have been smashed to smithereens.

"Shit!" I swore, fear taking over my body. "Ace!" I yelled again, using my arm to shield my eyes from the storm.

At last I found him, standing near the railing of the boat. Thankfully, he had a hand gripped tightly onto the enclosure.

I was debating whether I should take my chances and go near him, but as I stared, I noticed something was off.

His head was dipping down slightly, his hat still on (miraculously). He was also falling forward slightly, as if… as if…

I inhaled in shock.

_Stupid narcoleptic pirate! Don't you dare fall asleep! _

Another chill passed through me as I remembered a bit of trivia that I had gleaned from Jason. _Devil Fruit users can't swim. _

_They'll sink to the bottom._

_Ace is going to die!_

In synchronization to my thoughts, the massive pirate fell forward, and his grip on the railing loosened. _Damn it, he fell asleep anyway! _

_DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT! _

**_YOU DENSE_**_ **MOTHERF-**_

I didn't even have time to think. I had to save the stupid pirate. Or... or... Well, I don't know, okay? But I just had to save him!

At the same moment as I shot forward, towards Ace, a huge wave rose up just over our heads. Without considering the consequences (without thinking at all, actually ((I'm panicking, okay? Don't judge me))) I ran forward with all my might as the wave towered over us.

"_**ACE**_!"

I barely managed to grip the dark-haired man's wrist, and then the monstrous wave crashed upon us, soaking me with salt water immediately. (Oh joy. I just dried out). For a fraction of a second, I thought that maybe we were fine. Maybe the wave wasn't as big as I thought.

But that was just life, trying to delude me into relief.

Time seemed to slow down again.

I had another millisecond to tighten my grip on Ace's wrist, and then the wooden deck gave way beneath my feet.

The last thing I saw was that ridiculously ugly orange hat. And then, just like I had about two weeks ago, I was falling.

_**YOU STUPID PIRATE! **_

* * *

**A/N: **Hihihihihiii! CHAOS CHAOS CHAOS MWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA! So, please do review! I'll try to update again as soon as possible~!


	9. Stupidity?

**A/N: **Yay! I'm sick today, so I managed an update! ^~^ Hahahahahahhaha! Hahahahahahahah! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH! Beware, all of you; I wrote this chapter while I was high on medicine. *~* So if it doesn't make sense, I'm sorry. But I had fun writing this chapter.

And so, please _**read, favorite, and REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW~!**_Okay, I'll stop. I'm feeling way too hyperactive. Anyway, big thanks to my reviewers, _**MsWildLuck, aqua-empress, pizzafan123, SilentScreaming1944** _and **_frostmoon13!_ **^_^ Cookies and a Luffy plushie for all of you! Love you guys!

And so without further ado...

* * *

I was falling – I was falling from the sky, as I had nearly two weeks ago. But this time, I didn't fall onto the ground. I barely had time to register the sensation of vertigo before my body cut through the rough waters of the ocean.

_!_

The air shot out of my body, and for a moment I couldn't breathe. The water swirled around me like a vortex and engulfed me in darkness. And it was cold… _so_ cold…

I shot my head out of the surface, willing myself to suck in a breath before I was sucked under again by another one of those monster waves. Being Greek, I know how to swim. But even I, a '_One Piece non-fan_' (as my brother would have said) know that these waters aren't normal. The Grand Line, Ace had told me, was filled with sea monsters, and it also had a nasty habit of suddenly changing the climate. Having experienced it myself, I can definitely say that a bipolar teenager on PMS would be less hormonal than the climate of this stupid ocean.

I tried my very best to stay afloat, but to be honest, Ace wasn't making things easier. I know that Jason had said that devil fruit users sink – but I didn't know he meant that _literally_. I thought 'sink' meant unable to sink.

_This… this is something else. _I thought uneasily. It seemed like… something was pulling at him, from the bottom of the ocean. The more I pulled towards the surface, the more Ace pulled towards the bottom.

I panicked, but didn't let go. I don't really know why I was holding on so desperately, but maybe it was because he was the only person I actually _know _from this crazy dimension.

_Geez, he just had to fall asleep at the worst moment possible! It's just my luck. Is my life some kind of joke? Is this perhaps the punch line? The "end date"? _

_Am I going to die like this, in the middle of the ocean? _

I spluttered some salt water out of my mouth, gasping for air, and accidentally swallowing some rainwater. _So cold. It's so damn cold! _I was holding onto Ace as well as I could, but he wasn't as hot as he usually would be. Does the salt water nullify his devil fruit power, or something?

_Great! The stupid fire-using pirate can't use fire when he actually needs it, can he? Just wonderful! _

And then a particularly tall wave crashed on top of us, and I was pulled under yet again. _SO COLD! THE WATER WAS SO DAMN COLD! _

I opened my eyes in desperation, because for a moment, I couldn't tell what was up or what was down. I couldn't see anything, underwater. All I could see were bubbles, lots of bubbles… and Ace.

I nearly gulped a mouthful of salt water in surprise when my face came to level with his. I don't know why, but I felt like all the blood rushed to my face. _G-good. That means I'm doing a good job of keeping him afloat. _

Wrapping an arm around his waist, I kicked up to the surface once again, panting. I felt Ace's head fall onto my shoulder, and even though it didn't really feel bad, it was _so _not helping me in this situation. Ace was just about as heavy as any normal two meter tall giant would have been (in other words, he was pretty heavy). The rain attacked my face in violent torrents, so I could barely see anything above the surface, either.

All of a sudden, I had trouble breathing. It felt like my lungs just didn't work. _I'm wheezing, _I thought weakly. My vision started blurring, and I knew that if this kept up, I would black out in a matter of minutes.

And then we're both _really_ going to die.

Somewhere amidst the flurry, a particular spot on my neck started throbbing. I recognized the spot as a scar I've had on my body since I was little. I could feel it sting slightly, but I tried to ignore it. It didn't help me to stay calm, though.

_I hope I'm not bleeding. Oh my god. What if I am? What if I'm bleeding? AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! SHARKS! And…. Worse! I don't want to see a sea monster, especially right now! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! _

The chances of me bleeding are unlikely, though. I've had that scar for longer than I could remember.

As I struggled to stay afloat, my free hand grabbed onto a pair of interconnected planks. _Thank god! _I felt around the plank, and even found a piece of rope wrapped around it. _Lucky! _

Thinking fast, I wrapped the rope around the plank first, then around Ace and myself – tightly. I was thinking that it was a miracle I hadn't passed out yet. _Thank you, life. Maybe you don't hate me as much as I thought you did. _

It was a very thin plank but it was all we had. _I_ _can't hold on for any longer_. Black spots started fragmenting my vision, and it took all I had to hold on as tightly as I could to the wood. In a last minute attempt to stay alive, I pulled both of our torsos up onto the pair of planks.

Miraculously, we were still afloat, but that was it for my energy.

I coughed helplessly atop the miniature raft, spluttering out salt water. I realized I was still holding on to Ace tightly. _Good. I'm not going to let go. _But we were close. Uncomfortably close. His face was barely inches from mine.

Surprisingly, my body heated up – along with my face. I ignored the changes, and gritted my teeth. Ace's massive form lifted up and down as he breathed serenely. If I had the strength to roll my eyes, I would've. I mean, who the hell could actually sleep through _that_?

_You idiot. _Despite myself, I smiled slightly.

It seemed like the weather had suddenly calmed down. _See what I mean about hormonal?_ It had definitely stopped raining, and the wind wasn't even half as strong as it was before.

The sun broke through the clouds, heating up my body, and the churning waters calmed down to small waves. I sighed in relief. _Maybe we'll be fine. _

I was still breathing heavily, trying to regain more oxygen, but it didn't help. My vision started darkening, but I saw Ace's eyes flutter open slightly before my eyes snapped shut. The last thing I remember feeling is a hand. It brushed away the hair on my face before wrapping around my stomach, pulling me closer.

_Oh, so you decide to wake up __**now**__? _

"Stupid… pirate…" I coughed weakly, thankful for Ace's steadily increasing body temperature.

And then I passed out.

* * *

"_Damn it, Jason, leave me alone!" The dark-haired girl cried while she curled up on her bed. "I'm fine, just leave me alone!" Her grey eyes sparkled from the tears that streamed down her pale face._

_Her brother stood by the door, dark hair messed-up and spectacles on his worried face. His deep blue eyes glinted underneath his glasses as he crossed his arms over his chest. Leaning against the doorframe, he sighed. _

"_Ruby—" He started, only to be cut off violently. _

"_No!" His little sister cried. "You don't know anything, okay? You don't know what it's like for me at school." She hid her face between her knees. "You're not a 'freak', like I am. What would you know?" _

_Without saying anything, the older boy walked over to his younger sister. He sat down on the edge of her bed, and turned his back to him. "I don't think you're a freak, Ruby." _

"_I don't care!" Ruby screamed at her older brother. "Everybody else does! Bad things always happen around me. Always!" _

_A few minutes of silence passed while the sixteen-year-old sobbed into her knees, her shoulders shaking slightly. Her older brother stayed next to her on the bed, without even looking back. He knew that 'talking' won't really help her right now._

"_Jason," she sniffled finally, a bit quieter than she had been before, "why do these things happen around me?" _

"_What happened?" He inquired, finally turning around to face the younger girl. _

_She spoke in a rush. "Hector followed me up to the fourth-floor rooftop today after school." She wiped her nose with her long sleeve. _

Hector, _Jason thought, _he's a senior in my class, isn't he? What does he want with Ruby? _Then, he remembered that Ruby got into a fist fight with his girlfriend last week because she had been bullying her best friend, Miki. _

"_I had been r-relaxing, like usual, but then all of a sudden, he came up behind me and pulled my hair. He demanded to know why I punched A-Alexis," she sniffed, "and I told him to fuck off and mind his own business" – Jason smiled at this – "but then he pulled me away from the balcony and threw me onto the rooftop floor."_

_Jason gritted his teeth as Ruby continued. "I was scared. I was so scared. I knew he was going to hurt me, but then all of a sudden, he tripped."_

"_He tripped?" Jason asked curiously. "What do you mean?" _

"_I don't know what happened, okay? Everybody blames me, but I swear I didn't do anything." She was in tears again. "I don't know what happened, but he fell. He fell down." _

_Jason's blood chilled. "Fell from where?" _

"_He fell from the rooftop. Down to the compound below." His sister started wailing again. "It wasn't me! Everybody's calling me a freak, now. Hector didn't die, but he's telling everyone that I pushed him. I didn't! I swear I didn't!" She cried frantically. _

"_I know you didn't." Jason said, patting her knee. _

"_But nobody else believes me. I think maybe the wind was too strong that day or something, but I don't know, it seemed to me like he fell because the __**air **__made him fall." She said quietly. "I didn't do it. J-Jason…" she sobbed, while her brother sat next to her. "Jason, what am I going to tell Mom and Dad?" _

"_What do you mean, Ruby?" Her brother asked. _

_Her sister started crying again. "I've been expelled." _

* * *

When I came to be, I was lying on a beach.

I was aware of the powder-like sand underneath me. I felt the heat of the sun on my back, and I also realized that my wet clothes had dried. There was a crispy saltiness in the air, and I heard waves crash against the shore somewhere behind me, so I knew I wasn't that far from the ocean.

I lifted my head up and opened my eyes.

_How beautiful! _

To say that I was in a tropical paradise wouldn't do the place justice. I was in some kind of beautiful island. The shoreline was vegetated with tall palm trees, fringed with green, which rose up, towering over 2 stories high.

The almost white-blue of the sunny sky shone brilliantly behind the green, and barely a cloud was to be seen. It took my breath away. My eyes traveled down the foamy white sand of the beach to behind me, at the turquoise blue waters of the Grand Line. Even from the beach, I could see the reef, bursting with color underneath the clear waters of the lagoon.

I couldn't help but sigh.

I stood up, and I realized that my scar still stung slightly. I inspected my neck. It hadn't even reopened. _I've had worse, definitely._ If anything, all that happened was that the area around my scar had reddened slightly.

That was when I remembered Ace. _Where'd that stupid pirate go? _I wondered, scratching my cheek in thought. I inspected my surroundings, but I didn't find a single clue as to where he could've gone.

"Ace?" I called out loudly, cupping my hands to create a makeshift loudspeaker. "Ace!" I yelled again. No such luck. I also realized I was very thirsty. Parched, in fact. I started to worry, a bit.

_He did survive, didn't he? _

I spotted the planks and the ropes a few meters ashore, near the start of the foliage. It looked like someone had pulled it there, because it left a trail on the powdery white sand. _He definitely must have survived, right? _Then I saw his shoes next to the makeshift raft, half hidden beneath the sand. _Yep. He survived._

_But where did he go? _

"Ace!" I called out again. _Am I actually worrying about him? _

"Stupid pirate," I muttered quietly, walking further ashore, and into the vegetation. "Where did you go, now?" I looked around the place. There were a few odd bushes and trees here and there, but the island mostly consisted of palm trees.

I sighed and scratched my cheek in thought. I realized that, aside from the sound of the waves crashing and the other soothing sounds of nature, the island was very, _very _quiet. I could almost hear my blood pumping through my veins. Disturbed, I started walking.

_I'm all alone. Where did Ace go? He could have at least bothered to leave a note or something, couldn't he? Geez, what am I supposed to do, now? _

_Where the hell did he go? _

I had subconsciously started walking around in the vegetation, preoccupied by my thoughts. I didn't notice that I had walked so deep into the foliage that I couldn't hear the waves anymore. I let my mind wander, trying to think of places where Ace could gone to.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid… _

By the time I snapped out of my thoughts, I was somewhere completely unfamiliar – and the foliage had become so dense that I couldn't even see the sky.

I sighed again.

_I'm lost, aren't I? _

I opened my mouth to release a yell of frustration, but at that moment, I heard another yell from above. I looked up in surprise to see a girl falling from the foliage above. She was falling down… down… down… I flinched as I realized something.

_She's going to fall on top of __**me! **_

I screamed along with the girl as she fell on top of my head, and we crumbled to the ground in a heap. It hurt less than I thought it would…

But it still hurt like **hell**!

I groaned weakly as the girl scrambled off of my body. I got up from the sand and got a good look at her. She had a mop of long, curly red hair on her head, which stood a foot below mine. Her eyes were a sharp, piercing blue, and she gazed up at me curiously. She was also somewhat tanned (odd, considering she was a redhead), and had a beauty spot on the left of her chin. Her thin lips curved up into an awkward smile as she giggled apologetically.

"Um… hello?" She said in a rueful tone, scratching her flaming curls. "I'm Kimsha. Nice to meet you." She grinned at me, showing off a set of perfectly square, white teeth. She held out her hand in greeting. "What's your name?"

I just stood there, stunned. The girl blinked at me, the smile wiping off her brown face. "I-Is anything wrong?"

_Okay. So she jumps on top of me from a palm tree, and then asks me whether anything is wrong. Hm. Interesting._

I gaped at her in incredulity.

"Wh-What the _hell_?"

* * *

**A/N: **Heheheheheee! ^_^ I wonder who this mysterious girl is~! But more importantly, where the hell did Ace disappear off to?

Do review~! I'll try to update again as soon as possible. :D


	10. Friendship

**A/N: **Another weird chapter awaits you readers! :D I updated as soon as possible! ^_^ Anything for you guys! Hahahahahhahah! If the chapter has any mistakes and stuff, please do inform me about it, because I didn't reread this at all.

As usual, big big thanks to **_MsWildLuck, aqua-empress, frostmoon13, Guest,_ **and **_SilentScreaming1944_**_! _^_^ I really love you guys. You're what keeps me going!

So please do read, review, and favorite~!

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It was a beautiful morning. The sky was a lovely shade of blue; similar to that of the forget-me-not. Nary a cloud dotted the almost-white azure of the brilliant sky. The scenery was truly was stunning, especially serving as a backdrop against the lush, tropical paradise I was in. It was definitely a beautiful day among beautiful days.

But not for me, of course. I was way too busy caught up in an extremely weird situation. Like usual.

"Hey! Let me go! What do you think you're doing?" I yelled while struggling against the rope as a mysterious, weird redhead tied me to the trunk of a palm. She continued tightly winding the rope around my body with a small, sadistic smile on her face.

"**OI**!" I shrieked in a most unladylike manner. The short girl grinned evilly.

How did I get here, you might ask? Okay, let's rewind a little.

* * *

"W-What the _hell_!?" I repeated. "You're asking me if anythingis _wrong?!" _

The tanned redhead in front of me blinked, and then shook her head – almost sadly. "Oh dear, miss. I'm afraid you need to work on your manners." She sighed, and then tsked, running a hand through her wild curls. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that if you don't have anything nice to say, just don't say anything at all?"

Actually, she did. Several times. But I ignored this. "You just jumped on me from the top of a palm tree!" I reminded her. Is it just me, or isn't that just slightly out of the norm – even for this anime? I mean, who does that?

Then I flinched, realizing something else. "How did you even _get _to the top? That's inhuman." I said curiously.

The short girl raised an eyebrow. "All of us here can do it. It's easy!" She gave a light laugh and then shimmied up the palm tree she jumped from. I watched in disbelief while she climbed up to the top of the forty-meter tall palm. _Well. That's certainly something. _

"See!" She shouted down from the top. "It's easy!" Having said so, she grinned at me (the light bounced off her white teeth).

I looked away from her for a second, bewildered. _Is she part of this anime? She seems completely unfamiliar, to me. What the hell is going on? She's weird. I can't make sense of her! _

_Where the hell is Ace, anyway? _

That was when I heard a Tarzan-like yell coming from above me. "AAAAAAAAAAAAA_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_!"

I looked up in surprise – only to find her jumping down from the very top. And I stared; I swore her eyes glinted evilly. I blinked, willing my body to move. _Damn it, I don't want her to fall on top of me, again! I might break my bones! _

_How the hell is __**her **__body intact, anyway? _

She crashed on top of me – _Ow, _I must say – and we fell to the sandy floor in a heap – again. "K-_KONOYAROU_!" I swore. "YOU BASTARD! GET OFF ME!"

The redhead scrambled off me with surprising (okay, so not that surprising) agility and brushed off the sand from her white t-shirt and brown shorts. I lifted my head up to glare at her, face-caked with sand. "Honestly, what's _wrong _with you?"

I brushed away the sand from my face and body as I sat up to get a better look at her. Nothing _seems _broken, anyway.

The girl was grinning. I winced. _Oh boy, what's she up to, now? _

"What's your name?" She asked again, placing her hands on my shoulders. I realized how short she actually was. Even sitting down, she was barely a head taller than I was. If I had to assume, I'd say she was about only 5 ft tall. Said 5 ft tall munchkin's grin widened as she looked at me.

I tilted my face back – away from her – slightly. "Er, Ruby." I said, gently taking her hands off my shoulders while edging away. "I really must run along now – I'm looking for something." I continued hurriedly while I got up, walking away nonchalantly.

_Please leave me alone, please leave me alone…_

I took a few steps before looking back. She was looking down, and her red hair covered her startling blue eyes. From my angle, I could only see the beauty spot on her tanned chin, aside from her mouth. Her lips were pursed.

She looked up at me with those startling blue eyes. "Please stay and be my friend?" She asked a bit sadly.

My heart thawed out a bit. _Awwwwww_. I thought, staring at the tiny little girl. She must be only thirteen, at the most. _She's sort of adorable, now that I think about it. _

But then I remembered her eyes glinting while she fell on top of me, and a shiver ran through my body. I smiled awkwardly, and raised a hand in goodbye… before I spun around and started sprinting for my life's worth.

I continued my mental chant. _Please leave me alone, please leave me alone, please leave me alone…_

I ran through the vegetation as quickly as I could without crashing into any trees or bushes. The more I ran, the thicker the foliage got, and after a while, I paused for breath lest my wheezing should act up.

I bent over, taking deep breaths, while wiping a beat of sweat from my forehead. _Hell was that girl weird. _

I winced. _I sure hope I don't see her again. _

I straightened up, stretching. _Well, back to the matter at hand. Where the hell did Ace—_

I was interrupted by a sound that was now starting to get a bit familiar. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_!"

I screamed, not even bothering to look up this time. "_No_!" I shrieked. "I refuse to accept this!" I wailed. "LEAVE. ME. ALONE!"

But of course, she won't. And for the third time that day, I felt a 75 pound weight crash on top of my head – I repeat, _ow_ – and I fell to the ground, caking my face with sand, _again_.

_How the hell did she keep up with me, anyway? _

I never got the answer – because I think my body went through enough pain to last a day. I blacked out on impact with the ground.

* * *

So, back to the present, there you have it. When I woke up, I found myself in this situation. I think maybe this girl is sadistic.

"Let me go!" I glared at her. Where the hell is that stupid pirate when I need him, anyway?

The girl – Kimsha, I think – tied a tight knot with the rope, ensuring that I don't escape, before backing away to admire her handiwork. "No can do." She said simply, still with a small smile on her face. I winced again. _What the hell is she doing? _

"Listen, I'll be your friend," I bluffed hurriedly. Anything to get away. "But only if you let me go."

The girl looked at me skeptically. "You will?" She asked. "Right." She rolled her eyes, but then grinned, showing off her white teeth. "We're going to have loads of fun, together!" She placed her hands on her hips.

_No, __**you're**__ going to have loads of fun. _I corrected mentally, glaring at the spawn of Satan before me_. At this rate, I'm going to be stuck here forever!_ I cringed at the thought. _Damn it, what the hell is that pirate doing, anyway? This is all his fault! _"OOOOOOOOOOOOI! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!" I took my chances and then yelled at the top of my lungs.

Kimsha blinked, covering her ears. "Ow. You're loud!" She complained.

_Why the hell are __**you **__the one complaining? _I glared daggers at the girl before me.

She tested my bonds one more time before sitting down on the sand, crossing her legs. She grinned at me. "Who's Ace?" Her grin widened. "Your boyfriend?"

_Ew, no. _"Um… no, he's just an acquaintance." I said, making a face. "I sort of have no choice but to travel with him."

Kimsha stared at me curiously for another moment before she smirked. I cringed internally. _Wow. I never thought I'd be this scared of a thirteen-year-old. _"Right, whatever." _Oi, what's that supposed to mean? _My left eye twitched in irritation.

She rested her chin in one of her hands before she gazed up at me. "Ne, Ruby," she said very seriously, "do you like peaches?"

I raised an eyebrow. That's an odd question. "They're alright. It's not my favorite fruit, though." _Jason likes peaches. He always eats peaches. _I sighed internally. I really miss him.

"Then what do you like?" She absentmindedly tapped her fingers on her tanned chin. "Grapes? Apples?"

_Why do you want to know, anyway? _"I like kiwis." I said, almost carefully.

All of a sudden, she stood up without replying. In a fervent manner, she started pacing in front of me, while I watched, bewildered. _What the hell? _

Her lips stuck out in a pout and she crossed her arms over her chest while she paced. She sighed in exasperation, muttering something I didn't quite catch. It was apparent that she was very frustrated. She even ran a hand through her wild red curls.

Curious. "Um…" I started, understandably hesitant, "what's wrong?"

She paused her pacing and looked at me sadly. "We don't have kiwis here." Her eyes were wide with sadness. Her expression was so endearing that it even pulled at my stone-cold heart. "What will I do now?" She asked softly.

_Aw… How cute. _

"I really didn't want to kill you, but now I have no choice." She sighed sadly.

_Wait, _**WHAT**_? _

She pulled out a knife from her pants. _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH, wait, wait, what? Who allowed this sadist to have a knife? _

She crept closer. "It's a shame, but you'll never be my friend now. We don't have kiwis in this country." She gave another sad sigh.

I screamed. "W-_Wait_! I changed my mind!" I struggled against the ropes. "I don't really like kiwis! I like apples more! Apples are way better than kiwis!" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I'M GOING TO DIE. WHY? WHY DO THESE THINGS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME? _

She paused in her tracks. "You do? You like apples more?" Her mouth popped open in shock. "Really?"

I nodded. _Phew. _"Y-yeah. I like apples more." I said fervently. "Who likes kiwis anyway?" I chuckled nervously, still trying to find a way to escape from her bonds. I don't know where that girl learnt how to tie people up, but she can sure do it damn well.

She sighed. "That's a pity." She shook her head in remorse. "We don't have apples either!" She resumed walking towards me with a sad smile on her face. "I'm afraid you're going to have to die if you can't be my friend."

_WAIT, WHAT? _

"AAAHHHHH," I panicked, flailing around, "wait, Kimsha!" I started in desperation, "I'll be your friend, I promise! I'll do whatever you want me to?"

She was only three steps away now.

"It's no use, Ruby." She sighed. "You will never be my friend, now."

_What the __**hell **__is wrong with these people? _

Two steps away.

_Oh shit. Oh shit. I really am going to die. She's really going to kill me! _

One step away.

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! _

She lifted her weapon of death up over her head, letting out a battle roar.

I shut my eyes tight and screamed while I waited for the blow. _Goodbye, world!_

…

I kept waiting for the intense pain, but miraculously, it never came. Slowly, and carefully, I opened my eyes again.

Kimsha was staring at the space behind me apologetically, stuffing her knife back in her pants. Her blue eyes were wide and endearing while she backed away from me slowly.

_What the hell is going on, now? _

"S-Sorry, Zomi." She said sheepishly, all of a sudden. "Ehehehhe," she laughed lightly, fidgeting with her hands lightly. "I promise I wasn't going to kill her."

_Who the hell is she talking to? _

I heard a sigh from the space behind me. Then, footsteps. Whoever that was standing behind me had started walking towards the redhead in front of me. I strained my head back curiously, trying to see who it was.

A tall, slender girl with short black hair appeared in my line of vision. She was shaking her head slightly, placing one hand on her hips. "Seriously, Kimsha?" She sighed. _Such a pretty voice. _I thought curiously as I observed her. She had wide green eyes, and bangs that covered her forehead. Her hair reached up to her shoulders in a bob cut.

And she was so pretty that it made my heart ache.

_Wow_, I thought subconsciously.

The beauty turned to face me. "I'm sorry, miss." She threw a glare at Kimsha, who smiled back innocently. "She does this a lot." She smiled, and my heart ached again. "I'm Zomi. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

I blinked, still star struck. "R-Ruby," I said, staring at her.

Her perfect pink lips popped open in surprise. "Oh!" She said, her eyes widening in realization. "You're Ruby."

She sighed and then looked at the foliage behind me. "ACE-KUN!" She yelled. "I FOUND HER!"

My eyes narrowed. _Ace… __**kun**__? _

I heard heavy footfalls behind me, and soon, the familiar, stupid pirate appeared in my line in vision. He saw that I was tied up to the tree, and then sighed in exasperation. "I knew you'd be in some sort of trouble." He shook his head slightly.

_Stupid pirate! _I glared. _I was looking for __**you**__! _

Ace smiled warmly at the pretty girl next to him, and all of a sudden, my breath became shallow and harsh. My hands curled up at my sides and a familiar feeling pumped through my veins. The pretty girl smiled back, and my heart sunk into my stomach.

_What is this feeling? _

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Zomi-chan." Ace said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

That did it. My eyes narrowed into a death glare, and all of a sudden, the _pretty girl _in front of me seemed even more annoying than Kimsha – who just tried to kill me.

_Zomi… __**CHAN**__!?_

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**A/N: **Hihihihiiii! I wonder what kind of chaos will ensue next? Do post your thoughts below~ ^_^ And of course, please review! I'll try to update soon, again!


	11. Conversations

**A/N: **Yaaayyy! A quick update! I have to admit that this is actually a kind of cute chapter~! I had fun writing it. Well, it's as cute as it gets, I suppose. He he he he heeee *evil laugh* I just love torturing my OC.

Anyway, as usual, big big thanks to _**aqua-empress, aslMeno, Espeon14, MsWildLuck, pizzafan123, SilentScreaming1944,** _and _**frostmoon13**_**!** Your reviews are what keeps me going, guys~! Thank you, so much. :* Aika loves all of you!

So, please please read, review and favorite! :D Oh yeah. Also. ^~^ One more thing before I start the story. One of my readers questioned me about whether Ruby has any powers - I've implied something about that in the previous chapters. Heehee! It's up to you guys to figure it out! *wink*

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I suppose that it's a good thing looks can't kill.

If it could, the hostile look I was sending to the good-looking girl before me wouldn't have just _killed _her – it would have mutilated her corpse as well. I could hear the funeral march already.

Such was the glare I gave the pretty, dark-haired girl in front of me while she conversed with the stupid pirate. I don't know why I cared so much; I mean he's just a stupid pirate, isn't he?

I couldn't help but think though, _how come he doesn't call __**her **__unusual or odd? _I felt my bottom lip stick out in a pout as I wondered. _I'm not that odd. She's every bit as odd as I am. _I grumbled internally, scowling. _It's just that she's prettier than I am. _

My scowl deepened as I pored over my thoughts. _Stupid, stupid, stupid… _

All of a sudden, Kimsha got up and stretched before shooting off into the thick foliage in a sprint. Ace tore his eyes away from the (_*scowl*) _pretty girl to stare after the odd thirteen-year-old. Zomi raised an eyebrow before checking the watch on her wrist.

"Oh," she said in that (infuriatingly) pretty voice, again, "I really must be going. I have something to do." She smiled warmly at Ace again (_*harrumph*) _and then at me. "I'm glad I helped," she grinned sweetly, showing off a set of brilliant white teeth, "Ace-kun."

Ace smiled back (stupid pirate), "Thank you, Zomi-chan." My eyes narrowed at the '-chan' again. _He doesn't call __**me **__Ruby-chan. _

_It's not fair!_

She turned back and waved once more before she disappeared into the green vegetation.

"So," Ace finally said, turning towards me. I was _still _tied to the palm tree. "What happened this time?" He cut through the ropes with his knife easily, freeing me. I dropped down onto the sand and checked to see whether I had any bruises from the rope. _Nope_.

I fixed him with a stony look. "I woke up and you weren't there and I got worried." I said in a monotone, standing up whilst brushing away the sand from my clothes. Ace took his hat off his head, leaving it to rest on his back before running a hand through his dark hair. "Oh," he said, "I went to see if this place was inhabited." He explained.

I opened my mouth to tell him that he should have woken me up first, but before I could speak, he interjected, "I'm sorry for leaving you behind."

_Oh. Well…_ "Okay," I said, a bit suspiciously. _What's he planning? _"So is the place inhabited?"

Ace gave me a look. "Where do you think those two came from? The sky?" I shrugged. Kimsha _did _sort of jump down from 'above'.

"Of course it's inhabited," he sighed, and crossed his well-toned arms over his equally cared-after chest, "But I couldn't find a village. It did feel like those two appeared out of nowhere." He started walking absent-mindedly, and I stumbled after him.

"So," I said, falling into step beside him, "what do we do now? We don't have a boat, do we?"

"I don't know," Ace sighed. "I suppose we'll have to build a boat."

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You know how to build a boat?"

"Well," Ace admitted, not meeting my eyes, "I can make a raft or something."

I made a face. The idea of getting back on that hormonal ocean on a tiny raft with a narcoleptic pirate was not appealing. _Also, _I thought a bit uncomfortably, _a raft can't be very big. _Tight, cramped spaces would only lead to awkward situations, like that night before we arrived at Winterhawk Island.

_It won't come to that. _I assured myself.

_Probably. _

* * *

The day passed pretty uneventfully. We didn't find much on the island – but we did find a small lake, which was good. I had gotten pretty thirsty. As for food, it didn't seem as if any meat-eating animals lived here – I didn't even see any rabbits. We did have an unlimited supply of fresh berries and coconut though.

As the day came to a close, we ended up coming back to the beach we washed up on. After an entire day of walking around (and after lugging several coconuts around), I was understandably exhausted. I dropped down onto the powdery-white sand, tying my long hair up in a bun.

Ace said he'd be back in a few minutes after collecting (using a large mug he had fashioned out of the wood) some water from the lake, which happened to be nearby. I decided to do as he told me to, for once, since I was too tired to disobey.

_This place is so pretty..._

I exhaled deeply while I observed the watery horizon. The sun was setting now, shooting streaks of red and orange down the ripples of the ocean. The fiery rays bathed the white beach in a bright orange light, illuminating the place beautifully.

I inhaled, and the salty breeze passing over the sound of the lazy waves soothed me. It wasn't that hot here. I liked it.

I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn't tear my eyes away from the tropical sunset. I sighed in fascination while Ace sat down next to me. He crossed his legs and leaned back to rest on his elbows.

I lost myself in thought. _What am I going to do, from here? I need to get back… I'm sure Jason and the others must be worried about me. _I looked down a bit sadly. _Well, I'm sure Jason is, anyway. _The relationship I had with my parents had been sort of rocky. I had always been the 'problematic' child, and I had never really done anything worth praising for.

Jason had been more a parent to me than both my parents combined had been… But I missed them terribly. I missed everyone terribly, and I yearned to get back. The sun dipped down below the horizon, and soon, I found the evening star twinkling above the ocean.

I missed Miki, too. My tanned, athletic friend had always been a bit introverted, and I've never seen her stand up for herself. I smiled lightly. Most people would think an athlete would have guts, but nope. Miki is every bit as timid as she is nimble. I had always gotten into one situation or another while standing up for her.

_I miss her. _Tears filled my eyes again, but I blinked them away hurriedly. Ace doesn't need to see me cry – he already thinks I'm odd enough, anyway.

I brought up my knees to my chin as I stared up at the now darkening sky. After a while of traveling overseas, I was used to the beauty of the constellations I could have never seen back at home – but that didn't decrease my fascination any less.

Everything about this world was just so different.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice when Ace called my name repeatedly. I did notice, though, when he suddenly placed that ugly orange hat over my head. I jumped from my reverie and turned my head towards Ace, who had a smile on his face.

"W-What?" I asked, "What's so funny?" The hat was way too big for my head, and it nearly covered my eyes. But I could still see under the orange rim. Ace had a (really, really, _really_ nice) smile on his freckled face as he observed me, and all of a sudden, I felt my face heat up again.

_Damn it, what's wrong with me? _

I was suddenly all too aware of the situation I was in. Here I am, sitting alone on a tropical beach with a muscular (_and handsome_, I added) pirate. To make matters worse, the air started getting chilly. I felt nervous, and all of a sudden, the scent emanating from the hat (a very vivid _Ace _scent that I was beginning to get familiar with) smelled very, very nice.

"What are you thinking about?" Ace said quietly, sitting up and turning towards me. I pulled the orange hat off and placed it on the sand next to my feet before glancing at Ace.

I pondered his question for a moment. _How do I answer this? _I turned towards him, as well. "Home." I replied truthfully, and my heart ached with longing to get back to my family.

Ace thought for a moment before looking away – up at the sky. "What was your home like?" He asked, still somewhat lost in thought.

I smiled as I thought of my family. "I had a family of four. I lived in a small house not too far away from the main city," I paused carefully, not mentioning any specifics. I don't think it would be a good idea to mention inter dimensional teleportation to him – he'd probably find me even weirder than before. "I had a pretty normal family. My parents aren't very much out of the norm, but," my tone brightened, "I did have the most amazing brother in the whole world." I never would have said that to his face, though.

"You had a brother?" Ace asked inquisitively, a small smile spreading on his face again.

"Mm," I nodded, "He…" I paused, not knowing how to describe Jason. It obviously wouldn't do to mention the word 'anime'. "His name was Jason. I got into all sorts of trouble back home but," I grinned at Ace, "my brother would always be there for me, so I didn't really care."

Ace glanced back towards me once, before turning back to the sky. "It seems like you had a nice life back home." I smiled. _As nice as it could get with my tantrums._ "Why did you leave?"

"Leave?" I asked in surprise. But before I told him that _I didn't leave_, I realized that no normal person would have just dropped down from the sky. "I…" I averted my eyes, "don't really know. I guess I felt like it." I lied, clenching my fists.

I think Ace sort of guessed I wasn't being quite truthful, because he raised an eyebrow at me. But thankfully, he didn't push the subject. "I see," was all he said.

A few seconds of awkward silence followed this ingenious reply. The waves crashed against the beach – now purple in the dark. "Well," I said cautiously, "I didn't really leave." I said, and Ace turned his head to face me again.

"You mean?" He asked.

"I don't really know how…" I said carefully, leaving out the specifics, "but I ended up in Alabasta. I don't know how to get home," I took a deep breath, "or how far away home is." I sighed. "My goal is to get back." I admitted quietly.

"But well," I said, turning away from Ace. I very deliberately focused my attention on the theatrical faces on his ugly orange hat. "I suppose that if I had to be stuck overseas with a person," I whispered this last part, "I'm kind of glad it was you, Ace."

Another silence followed, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ace smile slightly. I felt my cheeks heat up. _Stupid._

"Aah," I said, changing the subject quickly, "it's, um, getting kind of cold, ne?" I said wittily.

Ace looked at me before rolling his eyes. He didn't reply. I don't really blame him. I yawned, and then stretched, falling back onto the sand. It felt soft – not grainy. I smiled slightly.

It's been a long, long day.

* * *

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of the waves washing against the shoreline. The night breeze had picked up slightly, but it was still warm. I searched the beach – purple under the night sky – for Ace, who was sleeping a few feet away from me.

I couldn't help but smile as I watched his chest rise up and down with his steady breathing. His face was serene, void of any emotion, and I had to admit that he looked… sort of adorable. I suppose this was as adorable as a massive, muscular pirate could get.

I sat up on the sand, feeling the breeze flow through my hair. My hand hit something as I got up. It turned out to be Ace's hat. My smile widened and I placed it on top of his head while he slept.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I felt like someone was watching me. Anxiously, I looked back, towards the ocean. I still had my hand on top of Ace's head.

I didn't see anyone, but I was still worried – and scared. I could have sworn someone – or something – was observing me. My eyes roved down the clear waters of the lagoon suspiciously, edging closer to Ace.

_What's going on? _

As I searched the lagoon, I caught a glint of yellow underneath the surface of the ocean, not that far away from the shore. _What's that? _

I started to get up, to wander over for a closer look, but before that, several things happened at once.

The first thing that happened was that I started wheezing uncontrollably. I coughed, pushing the air out of my lungs, trying to dislodge the unseen obstacle in my throat. Then, the air picked up, chilling me to my bone.

The last, and scariest, thing that happened was that a massive silhouette rose from the ocean. Its yellow eyes glinted viciously in the dark night as I sat there stunned. It had to be every bit as tall as the palm trees, and as the creature opened its mouth to reveal a set of large pointy teeth, my blood chilled.

It swayed precariously from side to side as it glared down at my sleeping companion and me – and by the look on its face, I could tell that it wouldn't mind having Ace and I as a midnight snack. If I didn't act fast, I was going to end up as monster chow.

Without thinking, I screamed. _A sea king! _

So it seems I finally met with a sea monster.

**Crap.**

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**A/N: ***grin* Teehee! Do review!

I'll update as soon as possible~


	12. Fear

**A/N: **It's yet another quick update~! Yayyyy~! Please do read and review~ c: Also. I think I need to mention this, although I forgot - this fic will be AU. I hope I won't loose any readers because of this, though. T_T Also, I wonder if I should bump up the rating to M. Violence is fine in a T Rated fic, right? Sigh. I don't understand. Guys, what do you think? Should I keep the T Rating or should I bump it up to M? Because this will have graphic violence later on.

I don't want to, though. But I don't want my fic to be deleted either. D:

Do tell me your thoughts.

As usual, huuuge thanks to my reviewers - you guys are what keeps me going :3 - **_aqua-empress, frostmoon13, SilentScreaming1944_**and _**pizzafan123!**_^_^ I love your reviews~ Please do not stop reviewing c:

Enjoy~ And thank you~

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_Oh my god. Oh my god. _I trembled in fear, staring up at the sea monster in shock. All of the fear I've been carrying around, every little bad feeling that I might not be able to go home immediately condensed into one, massive ball of terror that I might be killed by the enormous predator before me.

_Oh, holy hell. _I opened my mouth to scream, but before I could, the serpent in front of me opened its mouth to release a wild roar that discharged a wave of wind strong enough to blow back the leaves of the palm trees. I nearly flew back myself. It was my grip on the sleeping pirate that saved me.

I glanced at Ace once. It's obvious that he won't be of any use in this situation. I know firsthand that Ace is a person who _literally_ sleeps like log. And if he falls asleep, there is no way to wake him up.

The feeling pulsing through me couldn't have been anything else but fear. I screamed as loud as I could, and shook Ace, trying to see if he would wake up. "DAMN IT, YOU STUPID PIRATE!"

Why are you always asleep during these crucial moments?

Abandoning all attempts to stir the sleeping moron from his slumber, I turned back to face the matter at hand, and then gulped. The sea king was about as tall as a two-storey building, and several meters wide, too.

_How am I supposed to survive this mess? _

The sea monster leaned down. Its yellow eyes glinted viciously as it prepped itself to lunge at me. I sighed. _Shit. _I can't run away and leave the idiot behind, but I can't beat the stupid sea monster myself, either.

I really am going to become monster chow.

_But this is anime… So maybe… _

I closed my eyes in concentration, and let my instincts take over my body. I did the natural thing that came to me.

I inhaled deeply, and let out an equally deep breath before I covered my eyes and screamed as loudly as I could.

Okay so that was so not cool.

But what else could I do?_ I don't have any hidden powers, damn it! _

I opened my eyes to see the sea monster take a lunge towards me, fangs bared. Its hot breath blew on my face as it growled. I sat there, petrified. I was sure that this was the last thing I was going to see. This is it. This is the end of my life.

I shut my eyes tightly, waiting for the blow to come.

* * *

_The eleven year old stood in the deserted park, staring up at the stranger in the trench coat. Her grey eyes observed the man curiously but she couldn't see his entire face. But it was apparent by her face that she was intrigued by what little of his features that she saw. _

"_Mister?" She asked curiously, her dark hair whipping behind her with the fierce wind. It was a stormy day among stormy days, and the sky was overcast. "Are you okay?" _

_The man in the trench coat didn't reply. He gazed down at her, observing her. He was staring at her which such intensity that the girl in front of him took a few steps back in fear. He didn't notice this, nor did he notice the messy-haired teenager that entered the park. _

_Finally, the man chuckled. "My, how you've grown." He said, and judging from his voice, it appeared that he was around forty. "So it has really been eleven years since then." _

_The girl blinked curiously again. "Mister? What are you talking about?" _

_He didn't get to reply, because at that point, the teenager with the messy hair had reached up to them. He wasn't much taller than the eleven-year-old, but he wound an arm around her protectively and pulled her away from the stranger. _

"_Oi!" He yelled, his blue eyes glinting fiercely under his glasses. "What do you think you're doing? Go away!" He shrieked at him while her sister stood beside him in bewilderment. _

_Apparently the man in the trench coat didn't need to be told. He swung around and started walking away. _

_The dark-haired boy turned to his sister. "Are you okay? Did he touch you?" He asked urgently. _

"_No, I'm fine," she replied, half-dazed, still staring after the stranger. Her brother followed her gaze, wondering who the mysterious man was. _A pedophile, maybe?

Well, _he thought, _it doesn't matter. _So thinking, he steered his little sister towards the gate, planning to get her home. _

_But he noticed that her sister still turned her head back, gazing at the stranger with an expression so intense that it could only longing. He wondered what happened between the man and his sister with protective anxiousness. _

_Lighting flashed, and it thundered. Cooped up in his thoughts, the thirteen-year-old didn't notice the trench coat-clad man disappear as the place lit up with the flash of lightning._

* * *

The blow never came.

I opened my eyes hesitantly, wondering what happened.

The sea king stood before me, shaking. I stared in confusion. _Is it hurt? _I thought maybe the monster was shaking with anger, but then I saw its eyes.

The yellow orbs were wide as it looked back at me. The red iris in the middle contracted and relaxed slightly, but the slit pupils were dilated. The creature was breathing heavily, convulsing and shaking.

I couldn't make sense of it all… it seemed like the sea king was afraid. _But of what? _

It let out a panicked roar as it stared at me, shaking in fear. _Of me? _

My eyes widened as I took in the shaking creature. I stared up at it in horror, and it watched me fearfully, expecting me to attack. But I couldn't. I don't know how, and I have no idea why that creature was so afraid of _me. _

Releasing another roar, it lunged towards me again. But the movement was different this time. It wasn't as graceful as before; it was shaky and uncertain. This wasn't an offensive attack. It was defending itself.

_But from what? From me? _

I couldn't make any sense of it all. I stood there in stunned silence while the sea king attacked me. I willed myself to move, but my muscles appeared to be frozen. I couldn't move.

_I really am going to die, now. _

As a last-minute instinct to stay alive, I lifted my arm up to shield my face.

At that moment, I heard a yell.

"_Hiken_!" A familiar male voice bellowed.

A wall of flame descended upon the sea monster. My eyes widened in horror as the creature roared with pain, falling onto the powdery white sand. There were still low blazes flickering on its body but I could tell it was burnt through; right to the bone.

_W-What? _

I fell back onto the sand, my breath shaking. I couldn't think straight as I stared at the sea king, smoldering on the beach in front of my eyes. What had scared him so much? Me? But why?

What did I do?

I felt a pang of guilt as I stared at the creature, now lying dead on the beach. The smell of ashes and charred meat filled the air, but I still couldn't move my body. I sat there, my eyes fixed on the dead sea king.

_Why was the sea king so scared of me? _

I vaguely felt an arm around my shoulders, shaking me slightly, but I couldn't be bothered to look. Without realizing it, I felt tears roll down my cheek. They felt warm against my skin.

"Ruby!" I heard a voice say urgently, but it sounded distant to me. I felt myself tremble slightly, and I heard light sobs escaping my chest. "Ruby!" The voice said again, closer this time.

_What the hell is going on? _

"Ruby!" The voice said again, slightly panicky this time, and I finally tore my eyes away from the dead carcass on the beach towards the voice. I was met with dark brown eyes that were wide with worry. "Hey, you okay?" The voice said again.

"Ace," I murmured, the sense returning to my body again. I blinked again, and more tears escaped. I noticed the goose bumps on my arm as my vision focused on the man in front of me. Ace's eyes was observing me anxiously, his mouth set in a thin line. As I watched, his lips parted. "What's wrong? What happened?" He asked in bewilderment.

I blinked again, finally returning to the real world. I breathed heavily, leaning into Ace's shoulder for support. "I don't know." I replied truthfully.

I felt his arms wrap around me tightly as he lifted me up into his lap. I suppose I should be weirded out or something, but I couldn't get myself to say anything. The intimacy of this situation was way too high for me to ignore but my body didn't respond to this. Nor did it respond when Ace's hand stroked my long hair gently.

I think the entire thing was too much for my brain to handle. It must have packed up and gone out of business.

After a few silent minutes like this, I recovered.

The first thing I realized was how close we were. I could basically feel the heat from his body burning through my clothes. The second thing I realized was that I had my hands wound around his neck.

The third thing I realized was the intense blush that sprung to my face almost immediately.

_W-WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING? _

I withdrew my face from his neck, and I was sure that the shade of red my face was in would have made the finest tomato hang its head in shame. The awkwardness of the situation increased when Ace enclosed my face in his hands and lifted my eyes to look at his.

"Hey," he asked softly, "are you feeling any better?"

I was sure my eyes had widened dangerously. I stared at him, unsure that my mouth would work. Ace blinked, his eyes narrowing in confusion. He placed a head on my forehead. "You look really red. Are you sure you're okay?"

My breath hitched in my throat. _What… the… hell… kind of a situation… is this? _

I was suddenly very, very, _very _aware of Ace's hands. My skin tingled under his touch. "Aah," I said, my voice finally coming back, "I mean, um, I'm fine." I slowly withdrew his hands from my face and scampered out of his lap, feeling very hot in the face.

I very deliberately avoided his eyes as I sat back down in the sand. I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling very interested in a tiny sand crab that skittered near my feet. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Ace smiling at me, and my cheeks flushed again. I looked away.

_Stupid pirate. _

"Thanks." I said awkwardly, not meeting his eyes. "For saving my life." I turned my back to him, staring up at the sky.

I didn't get a reply, but I felt him place his hat on my head again. Surprised, I glanced back at him under the orange rim of the ugly hat, and he grinned at me before lying back down on the sand.

Ace yawned. "Don't mention it."

I took the hat off and placed it near my feet. I turned my face away from Ace so that he wouldn't see my smile.

I fell back down onto the sand myself. Might as well get some shut eye.

I stole a glance at Ace again, who had fallen asleep already. My smile widened into a grin. _Stupid pirate. _

I stared up at the stars.

_Yes. I'm glad._

_If I had to be stuck with anybody on the Grand Line, I'm really glad it was this guy. _

_Even if he __**is**__ a stupid pirate._

* * *

**A/N: **YAAAYYY~ Fluff~ I like fluff. c: Heheheheheeeee. Do review. c:

I'll try to update soon! ^~^

Oh yes. I didn't reread this chapter either. So don't mind the mistakes; I'll correct them later. xD Sorry, though. T_T I don't have much time to edit, sigh.

JA NE, MINNA-SAN~


	13. Depression?

A/N:Only three reviews? *crestfallen* The reviews I got were very enthusiastic, though ^~^ It always makes me happy to read reviews. YAYYY~! So thank you, **_aqua-empress, MsWildLuck,_ **and _**SilentScreaming1944!** :D _You guys are the best! Love you! :* A chocolate cake and a Chopper plushie toy for all of you! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY :D

So anyway, this is a pretty long chapter. I might take a longer time to update these chapters, because this is going to be a very interesting arc! ^-^ A new character will be introduced in this chapter, once again, and I hope you'll find this chapter quite interesting! :3 Because this new character is one of my favorite OCs yet! :D

Please, please do read, review and favorite! :)

* * *

The heat of the midday sun beat down upon the tropical island harshly. Aside from the slight ocean breeze in the air, the atmosphere was still. The green leaves of the many palm trees that dotted the shoreline of the island rarely bristled with the wind, and all in all, the day was a calm, bright, and sunny day.

_You insufferable woman, _I thought, glaring at the pretty woman in front of me, _how dare you show up in front of me again? _

So maybe the day wasn't very _calm, _taking into account the tense environment of our little gathering. The air was so heated up with my furious stares that even a slight amount of static would have ignited the area.

"So what happened?" Ace asked sleepily, scratching his hair. Zomi had come here at noon and shook us both awake. I was surprised both of us had been sleeping for that long. She had woken us up urgently, but I've learnt that it takes a few minutes for Ace's cognitive functions to return to normal after a long sleep.

_Stupid woman… _

The dark-haired beauty sitting on the sand in front of me sighed dismally. "It's Kimsha-chan," Zomi said, and as she spoke, her full lower lip stuck out endearingly, "I don't know what's wrong with her."

I know what's wrong with her; _**everything**__. _I shuddered at the memory of the eccentric, red-haired girl, who previously had tried to kill me – for _fun_.

"What do you mean?" Ace asked curiously. The short-haired girl sighed sadly. Today, she was dressed very casually, in a pale pink t-shirt and white shorts, but she still looked ten times more beautiful than I would have looked even after ten hours of prepping.

"She's been very depressed lately." I raised my eyebrows in surprise at this. The spawn of Satan is depressed? I stopped glaring at Zomi and instead shot her a curious glance. She continued, "Her best friend had suddenly disappeared yesterday."

_Her friend? _Ace and I shared an inquisitive look. We had been under the impression that the only people on this island were Zomi and Kimsha. "There are more people here?" I asked in surprise, forgetting to be hostile.

For the first time, Zomi tore her captivating green eyes away from Ace to look at me. "Well," she said, hugging her knees, "not on this island" – Ace gave me another surprised look. I know what he meant. _There are more islands here? _– "but of course there are more people here. A thirteen-year-old and a seventeen-year-old can't survive on their own."

_No one _can survive on a deserted island alone with a monster like Kimsha.I cringed internally again.

Ace scratched his chin in thought. "There's a civilization here?" Zomi nodded assent before he continued. "I walked over the entire island but I didn't find a single person." His face scrunched up in confusion.

Ace was right. We had all but covered every single square meter of the island, but we didn't even find a house – let alone an entire village.

"Did you go to the north beach of this island?" The green-eyed girl asked me.

_North beach? _I thought back to the previous day's tiring expedition. _No, I don't think so. _We didn't walk the perimeter of the island, assuming that it would be same all around. "No," Ace replied before I could, "we didn't. Why?"

Zomi smiled at me – the entire beach dazzled with the brilliance of her lovely smile (I growled in dissatisfaction) – and Ace before standing up gracefully. "You didn't check the most important part of the island!" She tsked at us, and started walking.

Ace and I got up – almost shakily in comparison to Zomi's elegant footing – and followed after her. Ace still rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned. For a few minutes, neither of us talked.

I felt a frown come up on my face as I thought about the happenings of the night before. _Why was the Sea King so scared of me? _The entire incident had left a huge question unanswered in my head. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't shake the image of the creature as it stared down at me in fear. Its wide yellow eyes had been filled with panic.

I don't understand. _Why me? _

I mean, obviously, we all _know _I have no supernatural powers. That's unreal, anyway. That kind of stuff only happens in fanfictions. This… This is different. If I did have any powers, I would have seen some kind of sliver of its strength, wouldn't I have?

My gaze dropped down to the white sand below as I pondered.

_If I __**did**__ have supernatural powers_… _I might have been able to stop everything bad that happened in my life. _

My hand subconsciously reached up to scratch my cheek – like usual – as I lost myself in my thoughts. A part of my mind noted that Ace glanced at me curiously as I did so. "What are you thinking about?" He said quietly, low enough for Zomi, who was a few ways ahead of us, to not hear. "Last night?"

_How did you know? _I turned my gaze towards his chocolate brown eyes inquisitively. I found that he looked… almost worried. I blushed slightly and winced internally, remembering my little 'episode' from last night.

I very purposefully avoided his eyes, trying not to remember the _way-_too-close closeness of last night's proximity. _GOD DAMN IT, THAT'S SO EMBARRASSING! _

"Yeah," I admitted, looking back down at the sand.

I saw Ace look at me anxiously before averting his eyes away from my face. "You never did tell me what bothered you so much."

_Should I tell him? _Maybe he'd know something about it. He's been in this dimension for a long time, anyway. But as I opened my mouth to speak, I noticed how tense he was. His jaw was rigid, and underneath his hat, I could see that his eyebrows were scrunched up in thought.

_What's bothering him? _I thought.

"You're not scared of me, are you?" Ace asked all of a sudden.

I blinked in surprise. _Why the hell is he asking me this, now? _I thought back to last night's events. I remembered Ace's _Hiken _burning through the Sea King… but I've seen that before. Jason had shown it to me once. It didn't affect me _that_ much… I was more worried about the poor creature.

I gazed at him curiously. _Why does he care about what I think, anyway? I'm just the 'odd girl' he was stuck traveling with, anyway. _

I've always known he was a thousand times stronger than I was (hell, I think everybody here is a thousand times stronger than I am). Confirmation of that strength shouldn't make me scared of him, should he?

If he wanted to hurt me, he's definitely had the chance. I'm not stupid. I know by now that he's not the type of person to purposefully hurt an innocent person.

_So why…? _

"Of course not," I replied, still confused. "Why would you even ask me that?"

Ace relaxed noticeably. "Well," he said a bit uncomfortably, "I thought you'd think of me as a monster after you saw what I could really do." He met my eyes with such intensity that I blinked and nearly tripped. "I could kill you with that attack, you know."

"But I know you won't," I replied without hesitation, not averting my eyes away from his. Of course he won't. That would be _way_ out of character.

Ace looked away from me. "I've killed before." His jaw tightened again and his fists clenched. "In the eyes of the people of this world, I'm a monster."

"But," I interjected, "I don't think you're a monster." I jerked my head towards Zomi. "She doesn't think so, either." Geez, why is he being all doom and gloom suddenly? "Do you think you're a monster?"

Slowly, and wordlessly, he nodded.

"Ace," I called him, and he turned back to face me. Dark brown orbs met light gray ones under the glare of the harsh tropical sun. "Stop being stupid. You're not a monster."

I continued before he could interrupt me. "Even if you do think you a_re_ a monster," I smiled widely, "I think monsters need friends, too."

Ace blinked, and then a smile graced his lips. "You weirdo." He said, turning away from me.

I smirked. "Whatever."

It was at this moment that Zomi stopped walking, and turned back to face us. "We're here," she said in her soft bubblegum voice, smiling slightly.

* * *

Ace and I had been right about the fact that there weren't any people living on this island.

But we didn't realize that we had been shipwrecked onto a tropical country atoll. The geography of the place was pretty simple. The crescent-shaped atoll formed naturally over an outlying coral reef in the middle of the Grand Line. There were a total of 5 islands in this atoll (but only one inhabited one) , interconnected by long sand banks, enclosing a lagoon. There was one more unusual thing about the place.

"I was surprised to find you here," Zomi had said, "since travelers rarely come here. This island doesn't have its own magnetic field, you see. The last person who visited this atoll came here 20 years ago."

Considering the fact that the island kingdom doesn't have much connection with any countries of the world, I'd say that the village was pretty prosperous – albeit idyllic. Named "Midorishima", the kingdom wasn't what you would call futuristic or advanced. But you could definitely tell that they were a strongly-knit community who could get by on their own without any outside help. It was a society where everyone understood and knew each other.

I watched in fascination at the thatched roofs, at the walls made out of dead corals, but what amazed me the most were the people. Most of them were tanned, as brown as Kimsha – but I found a few fair-skinned people like Zomi as well – and they smiled at us as we passed by. Some greeted Zomi in a foreign language I didn't understand. The younger men were dressed in shorts, but most of the older men wore pale sarongs. Ace didn't look out of place here, shirtless as he was, because no male I could see was wearing a shirt. The young girls were dressed in casual attire – shorts and shirts – like Zomi, but the older women were wearing what appeared to me as tightly-fitting tunics over a dark black sarong.

The place was mesmerizing. The village wasn't as densely vegetated as the island before, but the many houses were still surrounded by coconut palms and other tropical trees like papaya. The salty breeze of the ocean reached Midorishima Kingdom, and the air was fresh and unpolluted.

As I walked through the village, Ace, who had been walking on my left, stared around as much as I did. This was a first. "I've never seen a civilization like this," he murmured, every bit as captivated as I was.

I didn't see any cars or bicycles. The villagers didn't need a mode of transport, since the island was so small. The tiny, idyllic country was beautiful and clean, and the community was friendly and healthy. The island may not be advanced in terms of technology, but it was certainly way ahead of the rest of us in terms of humanity.

We stopped at a relatively small cottage near the end of the road. It had no additional floors, but I saw that it opened out to the woods from behind, so the property itself can't be considered small. Zomi said something in an unfamiliar tongue as she walked in. Ace and I followed inside wordlessly.

The cottage didn't have any fans, but there was a slight breeze in the air nonetheless. I noticed two doors directly in front of me and one door to my left. The floor was tiled, and a familiar, bronze-skinned redhead sat curled up on a wooden sofa on a side of the room. There weren't much in the room aside from the sofa; just a dining table and three chairs. There were also a bunch of coconuts in the corner.

"Kimsha-chan," Zomi called gently, walking over to the brooding redhead, "how are you feeling?"

She didn't reply. Ace gave me a look I didn't understand before he pulled up one of the chairs near the dining table and sat there. I followed Zomi's steps towards Kimsha.

When I walked close enough to see her eyes, which were hidden by her curly red hair, I stopped in my tracks. What had previously been a pair of bright, energetic blue eyes had dimmed noticeably, and her eyes were filled with… hurt. She had brought up her knees to her face, and she exhaled deeply when Zomi sat next to her on the wooden sofa.

"Ne," the pretty girl said gently, "why don't we go out for a breath of fresh air, shall we?"

For a few seconds, Kimsha didn't reply, but then she slowly and wordlessly shook her head. No, she didn't want to go outside. I saw the hurt in her eyes again and my heart went out to the poor girl. Her friend must have been very precious to her.

"Kimsha," I said softly, sitting in front of her, "it's your friend, Ruby." I smiled at her but she barely acknowledged my presence. All she did was avert her gaze towards mine. I met with those blue eyes, and once again, I felt her pain. I placed a hand on her knee and glanced towards Zomi. By this time, Ace had cracked open a coconut and was delving into it eagerly.

I was hungry, too, but I was more concerned for the thirteen-year-old. Zomi gave me a sad look, as if to say, _I told you. _Our concerned eyes met, and somehow, she knew what I was thinking.

The green-eyed girl smiled at Kimsha. "I'll be back in a second with Ruby-chan here, ne?" She patted her head as she stood up elegantly. I got up less gracefully and followed after her, out the door. Before I left, I glanced at Ace, and he smiled at me. "Don't worry," he said, his mouth full of coconut flesh, "I'll look after her."

I was surprised at my concern for the young girl, but I was even more surprised about the fact that I didn't feel quite as hostile towards Zomi as I had before. Just now, something had happened between us; we were driven by a mutual need to help the poor thirteen-year-old.

"Tell me the full story." I said as soon as I walked out the door. I didn't want to talk about this in front of Kimsha because it might have made her condition worse.

Zomi sighed and leaned against the thatched wall, closing her eyes. I mimicked her actions and leaned against the wall, next to her.

"His name is Night; Night Tsukimaru." She started, opening her green eyes. "He and Kimsha have been close friends for longer than I remember. Even when I first came here, they were good friends."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're not a native?"

Zomi laughed lightly, "No. My parents and I were victims of a shipwreck, like you. But I was the only one who survived. I washed up on the shore of this island 8 years ago, and have been living here with Kimsha, whose parents died from sickness, since then."

"Oh," I said. So they were both orphans. "I'm sorry."

The green-eyed girl smiled softly. "It's okay. It happened years ago, anyway." Then her smile dropped. "Night and Kimsha were just about as alike as a fish would be to a coconut – in both appearance and demeanor. While Kimsha was copper-skinned, red-haired, adventurous and impulsive, Night was fair-skinned, brown-haired, silent and calm."

_Night Tsukimaru. _I doubt it's someone Jason has shown to me before. I've never seen any of these people.

"But," she continued, "Kimsha was fiercely protective of him, and he of her. They were so different, yet so alike." She smiled. "Night, who is a year older than her and also orphaned, has looked after her since her parents died. They were inseparable."

Her face turned serious. "But there was something about Night that made the elders of the village shun him. His parents had been foreigners, who had died when he was merely a year old."

"What?" I asked curiously. "What was it?"

Zomi gave me a look. _Be quiet, I'm getting there. _"There was another reason Kimsha was so protective of Night." Her gaze dropped sadly before she continued. "Night Tsukimaru is blind. He always has been, but Kimsha has looked out for him for as long as I remember."

My mouth popped open in surprise. "Poor boy." I said, my heart reaching out for both him and Kimsha. She's not evil at all. That girl has one of the purest minds I've ever seen. But I gave Zomi a curious look. That still doesn't explain why the elders shunned him. The people here don't seem mean enough to pick on a blind boy.

Zomi took a deep breath. "You've heard of Devil Fruits, right, Ruby-chan?" She asked without looking at me.

"Yes." I replied. Ace had told me all about Devil Fruits; Paramecia, Logia and Zoan. Jason had given me a bit of trivia before, too, but I didn't remember much about that.

"Well," she said uncomfortably. "Night is a Devil's Fruit user; a Paramecia. He has… a very rare kind of Devil Fruit." She said uneasily.

For some reason, I felt uneasy myself. What kind of Devil's Fruit power could this boy have? I observed Zomi's uneasiness and my fear grew. I felt the hairs on my arm stand up. "What kind of Devil's Fruit?"

She exhaled and bit her lip before she looked at me. "When Night was little, he would wake up screaming. He would claim that a group of demons would converse with him whenever he went to sleep."

My blood chilled. _What? _But Zomi wasn't done. "We didn't believe him. But then one day, long after he fell asleep, I walked into his room to see whether he was doing okay." Zomi paused, taking a shaky breath.

I felt as uneasy as she did. "What happened?" I asked, half-afraid of the answer.

I saw Zomi shiver as she lifted her green eyes to look up at me. "Three… creatures stood by the foot of his bed while he slept. They were human in size and appearance, and they were stark naked – and bald." She bit her lip in fear. "But when they turned to look me as I entered, I saw that they didn't have any eyes."

A chill ran through my body. "What?" I was slightly confused even in my fear.

Zomi shook her head, as if to get rid of the image. "They didn't have any eyes. They didn't have a nose. They didn't even have lips. None of them did. They were all soulless corpses, but Night claimed he could hear them talk." Zomi swallowed deeply. "I screamed and ran out of the room, but the next night, I followed back inside, and there they were again."

I've never heard of a Devil Fruit like this. This is unusual, even among the Paramecia. But if what Zomi was saying is true…

I looked at her in fear.

"The elders knew about this predicament, and they wanted to kill him on the spot." Zomi sighed. "It was Kimsha's persistence that saved his life."

I still didn't quite understand how the 'demons' related to a Devil's Fruit. "But…" I started in confusion, but Zomi understood my question. She cut me off.

"Ruby-chan," She met my eyes, "I don't believe Night-kun is a bad person, but…" she swallowed, unable to carry on. "Night Tsukimaru has one of the most terrible, and one of the most powerful Devil's Fruit powers that ever existed."

This time, the chill that ran through my body didn't go away. "What do you mean?"

She bit her full, pink lower lip again and exhaled unevenly. "He has the power to conjure up those bodies at will – and make them obey his every command. What's more is that they don't feel pain, like normal humans. Their viciousness and destructive power know no bounds."

My eyes widened. "You don't mean…"

She cut me off again. "Yes. Night Tsukimaru has the power to create a never-ending platoon of soldiers - slaves, if you will." She rested her head back against the thatch wall, swallowing. "An unbeatable army."

I looked at her, fear taking over me. "And this same boy has gone missing last night?"

Zomi nodded shakily. "Night Tsukimaru, the boy with one of the most destructive powers in the entire world, has been kidnapped."

* * *

**A/N: **Dan dan daaan~! Anyway, I really like Night. He's based off of a character from a novel that I'm working on. I like how I've formatted his character out. ^~^ Anyway, this has been quite an interesting chapter, so I'd love to hear your thoughts about it! :) Please do review~!


	14. Problems

**A/N: ***holds up hands* Yes. I am indeed guilty of late updates. But I have a valid excuse! D: I have been very, _very _sick. My tournament has started, but after all that practicing, blood, sweat and tears, I can't even play. T_T Sigh. Sad. Stupid sickness. So yeah, I wrote this chapter whilst being sick, so I apologize in advance for any grammar mistakes or any such errors. But I must say, I enjoyed writing this chapter very much, and I daresay you'll like it as well! ;D Oh yes. I should probably say that I don't own One Piece, but I do own my OCs; Derannah, Ruby, Zomi, Kimsha, Night... and the rest of my OCs are one hundred percent mine.

So, of course, as usual, big big big thanks to my reviewers! :* You guys are my fuel! _**ToxicBoost, SilentScreaming1944, aqua-empress, MsWildLuck, frostmoon13,**_and the two Guests who reviewed as well~ :3

Teehee! I've included a treat for you guys in here! Do enjoy! ;D

* * *

Later, I found myself sitting down at a wooden dais near the edge of the woods with my head in my hands. Zomi's conversation from two hours ago kept resounding in my head. _"Night Tsukimaru, the boy with one of the most destructive powers in the world, has been kidnapped." _

I had prompted to ask Zomi, then, _"Kidnapped? Why are you so sure he was kidnapped?" _He _could _have just run away.

She had shrugged, the slim arch of her eyebrows furrowing together slightly in thought, "_Night isn't the type of boy to run away. Even if he did run, where would he go? _How _would he have gone? Night counts on Kimsha as his source on navigation." _

"_But who would kidnap him?" _I had asked. Upon my observation, the country had been a very strongly-knit, crime-free community.

Zomi had sighed, "_Who knows? All I'm sure of is that Night Tsukimaru did not disappear on his own will." _After saying this, she had mumbled something about 'food can't get on the table by itself' and said that she had 'to go to work and will be back in two hours' before shooting off down the palm avenue.

_Who knows? _Her voice still echoed in my head. _Who would kidnap him_?By this time, the sun was beginning to set. The orange streaks of the falling sun filtered in through the leaves of the palm trees, basking the sand in a golden yellow light.

I subconsciously scratched my cheek, thinking about Kimsha. Sure, she was a bit eccentric – freaky, even – but I can't deny that she is unbelievably sweet.

_I have to help her. _

Lost in thought, I wondered for a long time about what I would be doing if I was in her shoes. If someone precious to me had been… kidnapped like that, what would I do? Would I appreciate anybody else's help or would I be pissed that someone else tried to interfere?

_No. Definitely not. I'm a prick, but in situations like this, __**every**__body would appreciate support. Even Kimsha. _I sighed. _If someone precious to me… like Jason… or Miki… or my parents… _There was one more person who I wanted to include in that list, but the idea was so repellent that I pushed it out of my mind.

_He doesn't care. _I thought grumpily, throwing a glance at the cottage, which wasn't so far away. _Why should he care about me, anyway? All I've been is a pain and a headache. _"Stupid Ace! Stupid Whitebeard Pirate!" I vented my feelings by aiming a kick at the sand. Right. Because that helps _so _much.

_But more importantly, _I sighed, looking up at the darkening sky. Dusk was beginning to fall. _What am I going to do to help Kimsha? _My chest tightened at the thought of losing someone like she did. _I have to appreciate her strength. _

I remembered Kimsha's expression; the hurt, dead look in her eyes, and cringed. _I'd probably be worse. _

Then I flinched, remembering that _I _was lost, too, myself. A nasty thought crept into my brain. _What if Night Tsukimaru faced the same fate that I did – only reversed? _It's a possibility… but very unlikely. I grimaced. If this is the case, then it's very unlikely that Night will ever return to this island anytime soon.

I sighed. _Impossible. If inter dimensional transport was this frequent – or easy – people would have found a way through, by now. I don't think it's very much possible. _

_But still… _

Adrift in thought, I didn't notice that the sky was darkening. When I finally came to be, the sandy avenue of the village had been blanketed in pitch-black darkness. I could just barely make out the silhouette of the palm trees against the moonlight. Aside from the light from the sky, and the tiny amounts of luminosity provided by the cottages nestled in the trees, the entire island was dark.

I heard a low rumble. _What was that? _I blinked in surprise, my eyes not quite adjusted to the darkness. I glanced at my surroundings warily. _I don't really like the dark… It's scary. _And I had a bad feeling that if inter dimensional travel is true, then all that other fictional mumbo jumbo like the Sasquatch and the Boogeyman might not be a lie either.

Another low rumble passed through the trees. It sounded like the growl of an angry cat.

_Eeeep! _I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. _HOW CAN I CALM DOWN? IT'S A DEMON! A DEMON! WHAT AM I GOING TO DOOOOOOOOOOOOOO? Now I'll never be able to get back home! _

Technically speaking, I might not even survive. Ha. But it's more likely that I'll be possessed instead.

Still very cautious, I stood up, keeping an eye on the woods on my left. I can run pretty fast. If a demon happened to zip out of the woods, at least I'll be prepared. Hoping that life might give me some luck this time (since the chances of demons being real is very unlikely) I took a deep breath, preparing myself to run.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a pair of sinister yellow orbs suddenly appear in the darkness of the trees. My blood chilled. The rumble passed through the woods again, louder. And in the dark, I could just make out the shiny tip of a glistening white canine.

I took a deep breath. A shiver ran through my body.

_I-It's a demon! _Of course. Life hates me, after all.

I shrieked like crazy, sprinting towards the cottage with everything I had. I noticed heads poking out of all the nearby houses, but I didn't care. I was too preoccupied with the demon, which I was sure, was on my tail.

Not really keeping a clear head, I ran into the warm light of the cottage gratefully – only to hit my head on a wall. _It's the demon! I'm going to die! _I panicked.

_It's the demon's sorcery! It's got me! _I shrieked and flailed, desperate not to be caught by the demon, but then the wall reached out and grabbed me. Even though this seriously proved the fact that it _was _a demon, I felt _a_ sense of déjà vu, so I stopped flailing around.

_Hold up… _

I looked up to gaze into a pair of familiar chocolate brown eyes. "Whoa, whoa, calm down." Ace cautioned, not letting go of my arm. But I wasn't convinced that I was safe, yet. Demons can teleport, you know.

I looked back at the door in panic and pushed past Ace, afraid of whatever that was chasing me. I screamed once more before a pair of slender arms fell around my shoulder. "Ruby-chan, what's wrong?" An infuriatingly pretty voice asked.

My irritation towards Zomi eased some of my panic, and I slowed down enough to glance at her and whimper, "A demon." I shivered as her mouth fell open in shock. "A demon is following me!" I couldn't take my eyes away from the door. I kept expecting a winged, yellow-eyed and scaly monster with horns to burst through the front door, clutching a flaming pitch fork.

A beat of silence passed as everyone in the room comprehended what I said.

"_What_!?" Zomi and Ace chorused in harmony.

"What are you talking about, Ruby?" Zomi asked urgently, grabbing hold of my arm.

I gulped, eyes still fixed on the door. My breathing was slowing down gradually, and my head was starting to clear. "I-I think it was a demon." I narrowed my eyes, unsure of myself now.

Those yellow orbs certainly weren't human. And there aren't any meat eaters on these islands. It can't be an animal.

Three pairs of eyes were glaring at the door warily now (Kimsha's cerulean orbs were still fixed on the floor; she didn't seem to care less about Satan's minions ((not odd, considering she's one of them))). "Are you sure you didn't imagine it, Ruby?" Ace asked, walking over to where Zomi and I were standing. In one swift motion, he drew me away from Zomi and placed a hand on my forehead. "Maybe you're a bit too tired…"

I rolled my eyes. As if Ace could measure temperature accurately. His body temperature is higher than normal. Besides, it's distracting when he touches me. "I know what I saw." I said, needling out of his grip. I did this mostly to convince myself. Maybe I _did _imagine it. "And don't touch me." I saw him raise an eyebrow out of the corner of my eyes.

A silence passed over the room. I still backed away from the door carefully, although Zomi and Ace stood their ground. Ace sighed and shook his head. "Do you want me to go out and check?" He asked wearily.

I stared at him in surprise. Why does he sound so bitter now? Geez, maybe it's not only the Grand Line that's hormonal. I raised an eyebrow. "What do you plan to do if there is, in fact, a demon waiting for us outside?"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Those kinds of demons aren't real, dumbass." He very deliberately walked over to the door.

I narrowed my eyes at him. What did he mean by that? Are there some kinds of demons that _are_ real? I made a note to question him about it later, when he was in a better mood. Stupid hormonal pirate.

Everyone in the room (well, besides Kimsha) held their breath while Ace very slowly and deliberately walked out through the door and into the darkness of the tropical night. He and his ugly orange hat melted with the pitch-black color, and soon, we couldn't see him.

We waited, waited… and nothing happened.

So I _did _imagine it.

Zomi gave me an exasperated look before going to go sit next to Kimsha. I shrugged in apology. But I still felt uneasy. _I'm sure I saw those yellow orbs… I didn't imagine that. _

Ace walked back in through the front door, rolling his eyes. "See?" He said moodily. This is _so _odd. I've watched several One Piece episodes (several hours of my life that Jason stole), but I've never, _ever_ seen Portgas D. Ace _moody. _Angry, yes, several times, but moody? No.

I scratched my cheek, staring at him. Weirdo. "What's _your_ problem?" I snapped harshly.

Ace paused, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't have a problem." He grumbled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zomi crack a small smile. Whatever. She's a weirdo, too.

I took a step towards the stupid pirate. "Yes you do." I said, glaring at him.

Ace glared right back down at me. We were only one step away from each other now. "I don't."

I stifled a laugh. "Please, you so _totally _have a problem!" I shook my head. "You're lying to the queen – no, _God _– of problematic situations. Did you think you'd get away with that?"

Ace just sighed grumpily. "Of all the people on this world, I had to be stuck with _you_."

I paused, hurt. I looked up at Ace's face, and he realized – a bit too late – that what he said was a bit too mean. I glared at him stonily and set my teeth in a grim line. "You're welcome." I said coldly.

He opened his mouth to say something – that _asshole_ better be apologizing – but we were interrupted by an odd, low moan.

All three of our heads whipped towards the door (Kimsha, of course… well, you know). _What the hell? _The low moan grew louder, and it was garbled oddly, as if it were trying to communicate with us. _Could it be? _I thought, my blood chilling. _A true demon has arrived._

I was frozen to my place in fear, but I saw Zomi's face set in recognition. Maybe it's a _native _demon. Great. I'm going to be killed in the hands of a winged, yellow-eyed and scaly monster with horns and a flaming pitch fork, dressed in a grass skirt and coconut bra.

Just wonderful.

And then, out of the gloom of the night, a pale, wrinkly creature stepped into the light. It looked absolutely monstrous; lifeless white hair, serpentine eyes, a misshapen, hooked nose, pitted and pockmarked skin – and yes, it was dressed in island clothing. I think it was a female. I can tell by the attire.

_A true demon. _

Without thinking, I covered my eyes and shrieked. Ace in front of me skittered a few steps back, almost crashing into me (thank God _almighty _he didn't. That would have been the end of me).

When I took my hands off my face, I saw Zomi looking at both of us disapprovingly. "Really," she sighed, "stop being rude." The ugly demon shifted its snake-like gaze to me, and a chill ran down my spine. _Rude? _I shrieked internally. _We're going to __**DIE! **_

"This woman is my next door neighbor." She tsked at the both of us, and then turned to face the… woman. She said a few words in her mother tongue, but the tone was apologetic. The woman nodded lifelessly. Zomi made a gesture towards the table, and she shakily walked over and sat on a chair.

"I," she said in her garbled, demonic voice, "have a story to tell." She had a thick accent. I realized just then that the garbled cry must have been her, trying to greet us properly in her language.

Zomi walked over to the demo—er, woman, and sat down beside her, taking her gnarled hands in her soft, smooth ones. "What happened, Auaui-obaachan?" She asked in a concerned tone. "Trouble back at home with your children?"

I turned to face her. "No," she croaked, "this story," she averted her eyes towards the redhead brooding on the sofa, "is about the disappearance of Night Tsukimaru."

I stared at her curiously. Zomi and I shared a glance before we turned back to look at Kimsha, who slowly lifted her head out of her knees. "Night?" She whispered. "What do you know about Night?"

Ace sank into a chair near the table as well. I threw a glare at him and went to sit with Kimsha on the sofa instead. I smiled at her reassuringly, but she didn't seem to notice me. Her startling cerulean orbs were fixed on the old woman.

"It was a while past dusk." She stared. "I was sitting on my swing, relaxing in the dark." She paused to cough. "I saw the blind boy near the woods."

Kimsha raised an eyebrow, but didn't interrupt. "He… appeared to be looking for something," she said in her distorted voice, "searching. He was searching for something. I found that odd. He had no companions. Why should a blind boy be searching near the edge of the woods for something?"

She was right. _Why_? "And that was when a tall, unnaturally tall big cat shot out of the woods and started circling the boy. I shrieked, because wild animals shouldn't be here in the first place, but before I could do anything, he lunged at the boy and knocked him out before dragging him into the woods."

_A big cat… _Somehow, I thought of the feline yellow eyes I saw in the darkness of the vegetation. Could it be?

Kimsha sat up from the sofa suddenly, surprising everyone. She walked over to the demon—I mean, woman and sat down in front of her, looking up at her. "Night is alive, isn't he?" She asked fiercely.

"At that time, he was alive." The woman croaked back. "The yellow-eyed cat did not bite him."

_Yellow-eyes. It must be. _Kimsha's eyes narrowed in concentration.

"I saw those eyes." I blurted out, and everyone turned to me. "I saw those eyes at the edge of the woods. Yellow, feline eyes and the tip of a pair of canines." I sighed. "That's what I saw. It fits."

The old woman stared at me for a while before standing up, bowing slightly. "That's all I have to tell you. I must be going back now." She walked towards the door shakily, but Zomi helped her there. "Thank you, Auaui-obaachan," she murmured in her soft voice.

_Yellow eyes. The cat lives in the woods, maybe? _I'm sure if we go and scout around the woods, we'd find tracks leading to the cat. We need to leave immediately, or we may be too late. Kimsha had the same idea, because she turned to Zomi and said as the same time as I did, "Let's go. Now."

Zomi looked at the both of us in surprise. "No." she said. "It's way too dark, and way too dangerous. We'll go in the morning."

"But Night is in danger." Kimsha said urgently. "We need to save him!"

Zomi shook her head. "No, Kimsha-chan. Night-kun will be safe. We'll go find him tomorrow."

I stood up and walked over to the irritatingly pretty girl. "He might not be safe! We might be too late, even now!" I felt my eyes bore into her green orbs. "We need to go, now!"

"Not a chance." Zomi said, shaking her head. "Tomorrow." She said decidedly. When I glared at her, she took my hand in hers. "Trust me, Ruby-chan. I _know _Night is fine."

I sighed, but didn't say anything.

"Now, let's eat and get a good night's rest."

* * *

After a fine island meal of coconut, fruit and fish, we were all feeling very full. The atmosphere had been very tense during dinner, and Kimsha had seemed to mutter under her breath as she crunched down coconut and dried fish.

Zomi and Kimsha would share the first room on the right. Ace could take Night's room, and I would be taking Zomi's. I didn't want to, of course. That's a bit too rude. She shouted down my protests and very forcefully made me take her room. In the end, I gave in to her violent hospitality, and ended up deciding to sleep in her room.

About an hour later, Kimsha went into her room wordlessly. Zomi stared after her and then stood up from her chair, yawning. She stretched, and then said, "I might as well get some sleep. I'm tired." She smiled warmly at the both of us and locked the front door before going into her room.

A few minutes of silence passed between Ace and I before we realized we were alone in the room. The both of us were sitting on the wooden sofa. The stupid pirate was still feeling moody, for some reason. I sighed, ignoring his dark temper. "We need to save him." I said concernedly. "For Kimsha. We'll go tomorrow, right? Let's formulate a plan."

At this, Ace turned his face towards me, and I couldn't see his eyes under his orange hat. "We're not going." He said quietly.

_What? _"Of course we're going!" I said in shock. "You don't want to help that little girl?"

Ace lifted his dark brown eyes to stare into mine. I looked away slightly but kept my front. "It's not our fight, Ruby." He said quietly.

"It's not _our fight?_" I snarled at him. "That's your excuse?"

"Fine, go! I'm not going!" Ace glared at me. "Knowing you, you'd probably go and get yourself killed, anyway!"

I flinched, and then stood up from the sofa, just to get away from him. "What the fuck is your problem, Portgas D. Ace?" I said violently. "I don't know what you're feeling so miserable about, but you don't need to take it out on me!"

"_I _don't have a problem." He muttered.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I demanded. "Are you trying to say that it's my fault you're acting like this? What the hell do you want, Ace?" I glared at him stonily, fuming. The nerve of that asshole! I hate him. I swear. I hate him, so much.

Ace stood up from the sofa suddenly. "Yes. It's your fault." He said stonily, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't see how." I glared right back, crossing my arms as well. "I understand that you're not used to _helping _others, since you're a pirate." I snapped, walking over to the door of the room I was supposed to sleep in. "I know that you're pretty much like the spawn of a monster, but you don't need to act like it!"

Ace flinched, and then his jaw set in a grim line. "I'm not the spawn of a monster." He clenched his fists.

"Gee, you sure convinced me." I said sarcastically, placing my hand on the doorknob. "Just leave me alone, Portgas D. Ace. Talk to me when you're saner!" I glared at him. "I hate you!"

I didn't even know what happened next. It all happened so fast. One second, Ace was standing by the sofa, and I had my hand on the doorknob. But the next second, all of a sudden, he had me pressed against the wall, my arms pinned to my sides.

"Wh-What are you doing?" I stammered in surprise. "Let me go." I wriggled in his grip. My heart was beating furiously, but we were close enough that I'm sure Ace heard it. I felt a blush creep onto my face as Ace bore into me with those chocolate brown eyes of his. His hat fell back to rest against his back. His dark hair curled around his face. I could count the freckles on his face; we were that close. And despite myself, I couldn't help but think that I didn't mind this. In fact... it was kind of pleasant.

_What the fuck is wrong with me? I shouldn't be feeling this way! I can't afford to feel like this. I need to get back home! _

_Besides, _I thought, shaking a little, _I don't even want to feel this way about this asshole! _

"Let me go." I said in a small voice, my lower lip shaking dangerously. Shit. I so don't want to cry in this situation.

"This." Ace said, ignoring me. I blushed at the intensity of his voice. "_This_ is what's wrong!" He said, moving his face even closer. Our faces were almost touching, now. Any of us could just move our heads an inch forward and we could be…

I blushed again. Furiously. _I can't do this. I can't! _I tore my eyes away from his alluring brown ones. That helped a little bit. But we were so close that I could feel his abs through our clothes. Not just his abs. I could feel _**everything!** _Even...

"Ruby." He said quietly, distracting me. "Look at me."

I shook my head slowly, keeping my eyes trained on dinner table to my right. I didn't say anything because I felt like I would start crying if I opened my mouth. _Damn it, I can't afford to be this weak._

"Please." He almost pleaded.

"N-No." I said quietly, my voice shaking. "Please let me go."

Ace considered that for a moment, and then let go of one of my arms, which fell limply to my side. I wanted to push him away using that hand, but I couldn't find the strength to do so. "Exactly what about me do you hate so much, Ruby?" he asked softly.

I found it difficult to breathe all of a sudden. I didn't reply, and instead just closed my eyes, trying to stabilize my breathing. I couldn't afford to start wheezing right now.

I heard Ace sigh, and his warm breath lingered on the side of my face. It sent a weird electric current down my spine, and that r_eally _didn't help. My first instinct was to sigh, but I bit my lip and pressed back against the wall. I felt him caress my cheek with his fingertips. His fingers were warm. Gentle. Strong.

Another current went through me, and I let out a breathy sigh. I heard Ace stop and gasp in surprise, suddenly withdrawing his hand. _No! I can't. I really can't. _I felt horrible. I knew I was going to start crying any minute.

"Talk to me, Ruby." He pleaded softly. His voice was so soothing. So sweet.

_No, Ruby. You can't. _

I shook my head no. It was all I could manage. _Why? Why is he making me feel this way? _

Then his tone got a bit harsher. "This is what I mean!" He said. I felt his fingertips on my face again. "Why? Why do you hate me?" I heard him sigh. "I've had women before. Women from so many different countries." He said suddenly. "I've met several women. But none of them were like you. None of them ever hated me."

His fingers trailed down the side of my face, and down my neck. I resisted the urge to sigh, again. _What the hell? I've never ever felt this way before. Why? Why now?_ "Have I made you mad somehow?" I could see his face scrunch up in confusion. "Have I hurt you somehow? I don't know. If I did, I didn't mean to. But I just don't understand, Ruby." His voice was slightly frantic now. "You're just so different. It's confusing me. You're so confusing!"

I still didn't reply, but I opened my eyes and turned my face towards his. _What do you mean? _I stared at him questioningly, trying to ignore the furious thudding in my chest.

"You're different. I knew that when I first met you. You were certainly very odd." He said, resting his forehead against mine. Involuntarily, I let out a sigh again, and I felt the hand he hand around my wrist tighten a little. "But Ruby…" he breathed against my face again, closing his eyes, and the blush in my cheeks deepened. The hand that was on my neck trailed down my arm to snake around my waist. Another current ran through me.

He opened his eyes and lowered his voice. The intensity of his gaze made me sigh, again. "I want you to be mine." He said shakily. "That's my problem, Ruby. I want you _so_ badly."

* * *

**A/N: ***smiles innocently* COCKBLOCK HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. So what happens next? Does Ruby finally give in to Ace, or does more chaos ensue? FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON... HEART OF FIRE~!

*cringe* Yeah. I'm high on medicine again. Please, please, please review! :)


	15. Decisions

**A/N: **I am guilty. It has taken me _ages _to update, but I have a proper excuse. I had no wifi. See, that's a proper excuse. I had finished writing the chapter ages ago, though. So here it is. TADAAAA~

Oh, and yes, of course. Big big BIG thanks to my reviewers - _**Call**__**meEevee, MsWildLuck, SilentScreaming1944, aqua-empress, pizzafan123, ichigo1508, SweetCandyKeyk** _and **_frostmoon13._**

I'm having writers block, and I'm not very satisfied with this chapter T_T Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy the chapter! Love you guys! :D

* * *

I inhaled in shock. _He said he wants me. _

I looked up at him in surprise, but he released me from his grip and backed away. "It's your problem to consider, now. Not mine." _Problem… huh? _ Sure, it was a problem that he had feelings for me, but it still stung slightly to be considered that way.

This is a problem? Oh, yes. It's a huge problem.

The truth is that I've never really dated before. It was partly – okay, mostly - because I was known as a freak due to the Hector thing, partly because guys at my school had a tendency to be complete _dicks_, and partly because of the fact that I just didn't like it when people came too close, or when people touched me. I had, what Jason described as, a mild case of Haphephobia - A.K.A fear of being touched.

So, naturally, it came as a huge surprise to me when Ace touched me and it felt good. I wanted more. I actually liked it, and I _wanted_ more. Which was really, really weird, because I'm not supposed to feel any of this. I was never supposed to fall for him. That was not part of my game plan to get back home.

Besides, _moron _was never a turn on for me – or anybody else, for that matter.

Of course I'm feeling weird. I'm having feelings for someone that's considered to be an animated character, back in my world! What's _not_ weird about that?

"Ace," I started, feeling a bit panicky, "We can't"— my throat dried out and I cleared it – "we aren't supposed to do this."

There were many reactions I expected from him. He could have sighed and ruffled his hair sadly. He could have smiled at me sadly and walked away forever. He could have pressed me up against the wall again. He could have, feeling drastic, dropped to his knees and – ew, I'm so glad he didn't do this – begged for my heart.

But I didn't expect him to do what he did. Nuh uh.

Ace closed his eyes and smiled serenely, so I took a shaky breath again. "We can't." I repeated.

As if on cue, Ace's knees gave away and he teetered back and forward a little bit before he – _thunk – _fell onto the tiled floor.

And then silence.

It took everything I had to not scream out.

_Oh. My. God. He's dead!_

_I killed him! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOOOOOOOOOD! _

I nearly cried out, but instead I dropped onto the floor and felt his skin. It wasn't cold like a dead person's would be, and his massive shoulders were rising up and down, as if… as if…

And then it hit me, finally. _Oh. Oh, yeah. The idiot's narcoleptic. _Great you figured that out, Sherlock. Hurrah, hurrah, give the girl a medal.

_Stupid pirate. _As punishment, I am going to make you spend the night on the cold, hard ground. Fuck you.

With a sigh, I went over to the room I was supposed to be sleeping in. That was more than enough excitement for a day. I was feeling sort of tired. The adrenaline from before was certainly gone, and I wanted nothing more than to drop onto a fluffy bed and sleep for a century before I think more about what the stupid pirate just told me.

I twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door, feeling exhausted.

It took me a few seconds to realize that I was in the wrong room. I'd been in Zomi's room once, and her walls had been painted a neutral shade of peach. Her bed was neatly made, and her room was neat and orderly.

The walls of the room I was in had been painted a _lovely, _bright shade of light green – it hurt my eyes – and while it was slightly dimmed by the darkness, I had a sneaking suspicion that the paint was supposed to be fluorescent, just for the sole purpose of ticking people off. There was an open window opposite the door, and it filtered in a slight breeze from the trees outside. The floor was littered with all sorts of knick-knacks like shirts and shorts, and there was a lump on the mattress. A sleeping body.

But before I walked myself out the door, I realized something. And that something made me stop in my tracks.

I walked over to the bed to make sure.

There was only one sleeper. One body; a body that was a bit too tall to be that of Kimsha's. Zomi was the only one in the room.

_Maybe she's in the toilet? _

No, I had been in the sitting room all this time, with Ace. And a person would have needed to pass by us if they wanted to go to the only toilet in the cottage – which was in Zomi's room.

_Did she take off without us? _

While I was pondering that possibility, a low sneeze came from the direction of the window. _Bingo! _Slowly, and carefully, I made my way across the dark room towards the open window and stuck my head out, looking both ways.

Nothing but trees.

Narrowing my eyes, I was about to duck back inside when I heard another low sneeze. This time, I found her.

I looked down and found a pair of cerulean orbs staring back at me from the darkness. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Kimsha?" I hissed at her. "We agreed on going tomorrow!"

The mischievous thirteen-year-old stood up from where she was and walked a few feet into the trees. I could still see her, but barely. She turned back to face me. "I'm sorry, Ruby, you're my friend but I need to go find Night. I know where he is."

I blinked in surprise. "You do?"

"Yeah." I could make out her nod. "In the island next to ours. It's connected by a sandbank. I'm going to run there. I'll be back in the morning." With this being said she shot off into the trees and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

"Wait, Kimsha!" I yelped after her. "Take me with you!"

"Just run straight ahead!" Came her distant reply. "You'll get there in twenty minutes at the most!"

_Twenty minutes. _

_I have twenty minutes to catch up to her, and stop her. _Because Zomi was right. What if it was something we couldn't handle? Something too dangerous for a solitary thirteen-year-old. I'm sure Kimsha could fight off one lion with a knife, but an entire herd would mean d_eath_.

And what if it was all in vain? What if, after all this, Night Tsukimaru was dead?

I observed the darkness of the woods uncertainly. It was dark, gloomy and eerie. I don't like dark places. Not since I was twelve. Dark places brought bad memories, and besides, I'm still not one hundred percent convinced that there aren't demons in there.

I looked back at the girl on the bed. _Maybe I should wake her up? _

_Or Ace? Maybe I should take him with me. _But then I remembered how he dropped asleep on me suddenly and gave me a fright. With a twinge of annoyance, I decided to leave him there. _Stupid pirate. _

I turned my eyes on the woods again. I'm wasting time. Five minutes has passed by already, and Kimsha is a fast runner. It's going to be hard to catch up to her. I gulped nervously, trying to ignore how dangerous the darkness of the trees looked. The entire situation screamed 'DON'T DO IT, YOU IGNORANT SHITHEAD'.

But since I'm a _true _ignorant shithead, I ignored my dark thoughts and jumped out of the window, anyway.

God. I hate this anime.

* * *

_It was very late. The weather was cold, so Jason had all but forced me into wearing a huge bundle of clothes. I looked like a walking beach ball, but I didn't care because I was walking back home from one of the best days of my life. It was my twelfth birthday, and Miki invited me over to stay at her place earlier that morning. We ate at a restaurant, and her parents drove me out to see the beach. I always did love the beach. I loved swimming there, and even back at her house, I had so much fun with my best friend that I didn't even want to go home. _

_But there I was, going home anyway, because when I was younger, I still had a streak of obedience within me. _

_Oh, how I wished, later that night, that I had ignored my parents and stayed at her house, instead. _

_It was only a little after ten, but the streets were empty because it was a cold night. It was very, very dark, but it didn't bother me much, because I was fearless when I was younger. And anyway, I was coming back home from the best day of my life. Why would anything kill my buzz? _

_I skipped home happily, unaware that a man in a trench coat had started following me. I didn't notice him follow me for almost two blocks. And then, my life just went downhill from there. That was the start of my bad luck. _

_Before I knew what was happening, the man grabbed me and pulled me into a dark alleyway. He slapped a hand over my mouth, effectively cutting off my surprised shriek. It was very dark, but I could just make out the outline of the trench coat, and I flinch, because I've seen this man before. In that park, about a year ago. _

_I was terrified. The man grinned wildly, and I saw his teeth shine in the dark. The man smelled like moldy clothes, rotten bread, and his breath stunk of beer. And even as a twelve-year-old, I could tell that he was very, very drunk. _

"_Oh, Ruby Layor, you nasty little rascal," the man had said, "You have caused so much trouble for me." This very sentence confused me. My last name wasn't Layor, it was Mallard. And what trouble? I knew I got in all sorts of messes, but I've never really hurt anyone before. _

_Whatever the reason was, the man wasn't going to let me go without punishment. And I remember feeling scared, because I felt his hand go towards my jeans. Hands don't just go towards jeans. "And you are going to pay for it." He ripped open the front of my jeans, and I screamed under his grip. "Severely." _

* * *

_IhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemylife… _

I had my eyes shut tight while I ran, but I could still feel the rustle of the leaves as it stroked my skin. I could feel the bare feet – my sandals must have clattered off in the living room while Ace and I had that… thing, together – scratch against the twigs and rocks of the ground underneath. Adventurers might find that soothing. But I? I am no adventurer. I'm a thank-you-but-I'll-stay-at-home-and-annoy-the-shit-out-of-you-er. And thank-you-but-I'll-stay-at-home-and-annoy-the-shit-out-of-you-ers don't like anything that adventurers find soothing.

Particularly sprinting through a dense undergrowth in the middle of the night.

_IhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemyllife…_

When I finally broke through the dark woods, I had to blink to adjust to the sudden light from the moon. The entire beach was bleached black and white by the moonlight, and the turquoise blue waters seemed inky-black in the middle of the night. The bank of sand stretched out like a grim, pale bridge with waves overlapping each side, until it reached another, densely vegetated island a league or two away.

Much to my chagrin, Kimsha wasn't anywhere in sight, but I started running down the pale-white sand anyway. I'm going to go to that island and drag her back with my teeth, if I have to.

_IhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemyllife… _

The night was cold, and I was dressed only in a shirt and shorts. The harsh wind whipped against my bare legs, and I shivered while I sprinted down the sand. I would say it was a miracle I hadn't started wheezing yet, but every time I say that, I actually _do _start wheezing.

My hair was getting in my face, so I tied it up in a bun as I ran. The island loomed closer. It was pretty close, so I was reaching the beach already. I could count the trees on the shoreline, now.

When I finally reached the island, I paused for breath, panting. I looked up at the woods, and nearly groaned. I _so _do not want to go through the trees again. Especially now that I know there are all sorts of carnivores in there.

_IhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemylifeIhatemyllife…_

That was when I heard the shriek. It was feminine and it was familiar. The blood drenched away from my already pale face. _Kimsha. _What scared me most was that it was heartbreakingly desperate.

Fear pumped through my veins, but it wasn't for me this time. It was for Kimsha. Without hesitation, I sprinted into the woods and ran frantically towards the sound of the scream. I nearly faltered in my stride when a canine roar followed her shriek. _Oh, no. Oh, Kimsha, what's going on? _

I could vaguely tell that the island was uninhabited, because there was no telltale marks of human civilization in the woods, unlike the undergrowth of the island before.

I was feeling desperate, but I had a clear sense of where to go, now. The sound came from right in front of me, but a mile or so away. My heart sank and twisted in my gut again when I heard Kimsha shriek again. _No way, kid. No way are you going to die on me! _

I closed my eyes and hoped with everything I had that she was still alive.

* * *

When Portgas D. Ace woke up, he had a huge headache. For a moment, he couldn't fathom why, but then he felt the throbbing in his forehead and realized he must have had an attack on narcolepsy, again.

Mumbling under his breath sleepily, he willed himself to get up and sit on the sofa. He rubbed the bump on his head gently, wishing there was some ice in the room. Where the hell is he, anyway? Why is he not on his ship, with his crewmates?

And then it came back to him, all at once, and a sinking feeling crept into his stomach. _Blackbeard. _He needed to hunt down Blackbeard. It's his duty as the commander.

But for now, he just really wanted some ice. He got up and started to aimlessly wander in the room, trying to find some food. He didn't get far before he tripped over an unseen obstacle and nearly fell flat onto his face. That would have _really _soothed that bump. Not.

Grumbling sleepily, he looked down to see what the unseen obstacle was. A sandal. A familiar sandal.

_Ruby. _He realized. Where was she, anyway? He remembered vaguely that her sandals slipped off her feet when he suddenly advanced on her like that. Why did he do that, anyway? That was a stupid thing to do. Most women liked it when he did that, but he felt as if he scared her off.

He ran a hand through his dark curls. She really was odd. It was almost as if she came from a whole other world. He leaned down to pick up her sandal, and ran it over in his hands. He wondered whether she was asleep.

Deciding to return the footwear, he made his way across the room to where she was supposed to be sleeping in. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that something was wrong, but he dismissed it. That feeling hadn't gone away since Blackbeard murdered Thatch.

He opened the door to Zomi's room as quietly as he could, and peeked inside, expecting to see her small figure huddled up under the sheets.

The bed was empty.

Ace narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Ruby had a knack for getting into trouble… but she seemed exhausted. He didn't think she'd run off by herself. _Besides, she's not an adventurer, and we all know that. _

He figured that she must have slept in either Kimsha's room, with the other two, or got confused and ended up sleeping in Night's room. The former was more possible than the latter, but he decided to check Night Tsukimaru's room before moving onto the girls' room.

It was empty, like he thought it would be.

He cautiously opened the door to Kimsha's room, wincing at the color of the walls. If there was a girl odder than Ruby, then that would definitely be Kimsha. He did a rough scan of the room.

There was only one lump on the bed. Only one body. And it was not hers. He could tell, because he often observed her physique while she wasn't looking. Enough to identify her sleeping silhouette when he saw it.

Guesstimating from the height, he assumed it was Zomi. This meant that Ruby wasn't in the cottage. Somehow, he wasn't surprised. He sighed, barely suppressing a groan. Shutting the door to the room behind him, he walked over to the open window, the only means of escape.

Sure enough, there were footprints on the sand.

_She's such an idiot! _

With an annoyed grunt, he pushed himself through the window and landed on the sandy ground with a muffled thud.

But as always, he noticed that he wanted to save her sorry ass, anyway.

* * *

I was almost there. Kimsha's screams were more frequent now, more urgent. The canine roars were closer, louder and more terrible. My blood chilled with every breath I took, and it took all my strength to maintain my breathing. I must not start wheezing now.

Not when a little girl's life is in danger!

I could see a clearing of high grass from a space in between two trees in front of me. I assumed it was a clearing because I could actually see the grass; there were no trees overhead to block out the moonlight.

Fear, anticipation and anxiety crawled their way into my body and curled themselves into my gut. Please let her be alive. Please, please, please.

I freed myself from the darkness of the trees and broke into the clearing just in time to see Kimsha fly across the clearing in a high arc before crash landing into a field of grass a few meters away from me. I had no time to run over to check whether she was okay, because her attacker turned to me almost immediately.

It wasn't a herd of lions.

The person across the meadow was dressed in some sort of cat get-up, and even had whiskers sprouting from that person's cheeks. I couldn't tell whether the attacker was male or female, but I knew those eyes when I saw them.

It defied all logic but those familiar, striking green eyes were definitely those of Zomi's.

* * *

**A/N:** DANDANDAAANN.

I'm sorry about the cliffhanger, again. *bows apologetically* Do forgive me. *runs away*

I'LL UPDATE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON *yells off into the sunset*.

I hate being high on medicine, I swear.


	16. Confrontation

**A/N: **I'M BACK! But unfortunately, school starts in 12 days. Meh, might as well make use of the time while I can. So here's another chapter for you guys~ :3 I hope you'll like it. I apologize for the lack of fluff in this arc, but I promise you, the next arc will be filled to the brim with fluff. That's okay with you guys? :D Okay, thank you. Thank you _**SilentScreaming1944, CallmeEevee, SweetCandyKeyk, aqua-empress,** _and **_ichigo1508_** ^_^ Please do keep on reviewing~ Reviews are my fuel. :3

So here it is. I hope you'll like it. :D

* * *

The first irrational feeling that came to me was anger. Anger; in the form of betrayal and disgust. How? How could she do this to us? To Kimsha? How could she betray us like this? Then came confusion. Confusion because there was no possible way she could have reached here before I did. Confusion because Zomi seemed to, genuinely, love Kimsha and Night.

"Zomi?" I heard myself ask in surprise.

In reply, the person from across the meadow laughed. It was a rough, feline laugh; almost a snarl. It was unlike Zomi's infuriating bubble-gum pink voice, as had been the masculine roars I heard previously. _It can't be Zomi._ It was impossible.

"Please don't insult me," the cat-like man purred, "by comparing me to one so weak."

I glared at _him_- _it's _definitely_ not Zomi _- before I started running across the open field to where Kimsha's limp body lay. I hoped desperately that she was alive. If this spirited thirteen-year-old was beaten in a matter of minutes, I'd be down in a second. I mean, I don't even know how to throw a punch. _I need to buy time; I'm not a fighter. I need to get Kimsha and leave -__now__._

Before I got midway across, a huge, brown cat blocked my path. I found myself looking into a pair of familiar yellow-orbs. The cat snarled at me viciously, its hackles rising up.

I clenched my fists and took a step back, trying to find a way through. I could run, but that would be a thorn in my pride. Plus, I think the cat can outrun me, anyway. So no point in wasting my breath. I could jump and risk getting my ass ripped into shreds.

The cat snarled again, and I turned my attention back to it. I realized it was more docile than a lion or a tiger, but it was definitely bigger than a house-cat. I decided that it was an overly-large lynx (it was as big as any lion). No other wildcat could have such a thick fur coat.

A few ways behind me, the cat-like man laughed its feline laugh. "Good girl, Shiva. Lead her back to me."

_Wait, what?_

The lynx snarled and started advancing on me. "Get back, kitty." I said as scarily as I could. The cat didn't even flinch. I didn't really blame it.

_Oh, no no no no no no no no. This is not good._

Almost involuntarily, I retreated. I knew this wasn't a good idea, but at the same time, there was nothing I could do. I tried to side-step the lynx, but then it lunged at me, so I was forced to fall back into step. I looked back in fear. The cat-man was advancing on me from behind. I was trapped.

_... Fuck._

The lynx stopped, so I was forced to turn back to face the bigger threat; the attacker. We were barely a few yards away from each other, now. I was close enough to count the whiskers on his cheek (four on each side), close enough to see the pointed canines, close enough to see the 3-inch long claws on his fingers, close enough to see the many hairs sprouting all over his fair skin. Unless this guy was a total weirdo who was addicted to plastic surgery, I guessed he had eaten a devil's fruit.

"Hello, sweety," he purred in a low voice, "nice to meet you."

"Let them go!" I yelled back, trying to ignore the fear pumping through my veins. "Let Night and Kimsha go."

He waved a clawed hand, as if they were insignificant. I narrowed my eyes at him. It was difficult to read what his intentions were. "Take the girl. I never asked her to come."

I gritted my teeth. "And the boy?"

The cat-man's thin lips curved up into a smirk. "I'm afraid I need to keep him with me. I can't give you everything, can I, sweety?"

"I'm not your sweety." I said on impulse, glaring at him.

In response, he started walking towards me, until we barely had a yard of grass between us. "Where's your boyfriend, honey?" I narrowed my eyes at the new nickname. Freak.

Even though I knew he was talking about Ace, I lifted my chin up arrogantly, as if I didn't know what he was talking about. I hoped he didn't notice the shaking in my knees, though. "What boyfriend?" I caught his green eyes, glaring at him defiantly.

"Portgas D. Ace, Commander of the Second Division Whitebeard Pirates."

I narrowed my eyes at him. _How did he know Ace was a Whitebeard Pirate?_"I've never even heard that name before." I lied blatantly without even flinching. The lynx behind me snarled at the tone of my voice.

A voice in the back of my head told me that I was just getting myself into trouble, that it was better to tell the truth than to die a sad death. _Shut up,_I told it. I've gotten into enough trouble by listening to the voices in my head.

The furry man snarled at me and then struck without warning. He elbowed the side of my head -_ow_- and gripped my arm - again, _ow_- with his claws before I fell. "If you tell me where he is, I'll let you and your red-haired friend go without harming you. Zomi and I had a bargain."

A sharp pain pulsed through my temple, and my arm was probably badly scratched. I felt weak at the knees and I felt my previous bravado slipping away. Being this close to death enforced a feeling of mortality in me. The prospect of dying loomed over me, and if this man was to kill me, I'm sure it wouldn't be pleasant. But the name _Zomi_turned on my cognitive functions, and I found myself turning my head towards him weakly. I could feel his stinky breath on my face, and I could count the scars marring his hairy cheeks.

"What does Zomi have to do with any of this?"

He laughed, and I was punished with another whiff of his disgusting breath. "That weak little bitch didn't tell you, did she?" He loomed even closer, until his sweaty nose almost touched my forehead. Up close, his green eyes seemed to glow in the dark. I craned my head back instinctively. "She's my lovely niece."

.. _No. No way._

I felt the air rush out of my body in shock. Because Zomi couldn't - wouldn't – have done something like this. She wouldn't have lied to us. It was one thing to throw Ace into the lump, but Night? Night, whom she loves almost as much as she does Kimsha?

A voice in my head reminded me that she didn't really lie, did she. She just omitted certain truths.

_Impossible. It can't be._

The cat-man caught the disbelief in my eyes and laughed again. "Hah!" _He really needs to get some breath mints. "_She's conniving, isn't she? Pretending to be all kind and thoughtful and generous when really she was in cahoots with me all this time."

The fear and shock rushed out of my system, only to be replaced by fury. I could feel my limbs shaking again, but not because I was scared. I was _furious_, and I wanted to kill this man! I wanted to kill him and beat Zomi to death with his carcass! How could she? How could she do this to Night? To _Kimsha_!?

I struggled in his grip, scratching my shoulders with his claws again, and glared at him with everything I had. "I'll kill you!" I spat out. I felt angrier than I had ever felt before. My fury was such that I barely noticed the rain that had started falling from the overcast sky.

When the drops fell on my captor's black hair, he looked up in surprise, letting go of my arm. Noticing my chance, I turned back and ran, skirting around the lynx, who was preoccupied with the rain, towards Kimsha. I was still shaking with anger, but it was with extreme gentleness that I pulled her onto my lap, taking her pulse. She didn't seem to have any major wounds, and her pulse was steady. Judging by her state, I believed that she was knocked out.

Once I was absolutely sure that Kimsha was okay, I looked back to see that the lynx was steadily declining into the shade of the trees while the cat-man stood frozen on the grass, still looking up at the sky in disbelief. It was like he never saw rain before. Just seeing him made another wave of fury roll through my veins, so I gently placed Kimsha back on the grass before turning back to face him. For all I knew, Ace was still collapsed onto the ground, and I couldn't expect any help from that traitor Zomi.

So I stood my ground arrogantly, deciding that if I go down, I go down with pride. (I can't go down with style because I have no idea how to even throw a mere punch, let alone fight).

The furry man finally tore his eyes away from the sky to look at me, still wearing the same expression of disbelief. "You..." he said in a voice that I barely caught over the downpour, "What are you doing?"

I glared at him. "Getting ready to kill you." Maybe he'll call my bluff and let me go.

His eyes widened in surprise. "You're the girl. You're _that_ girl." He whispered in shock. "What are you doing here?"

My fury started receding, and instead it was replaced by confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked. Does this man possibly know something about me, or what I'm doing in a world I'm not supposed to belong in? "What do you mean; I'm 'that girl'?" I demanded of him.

He all but ignored me and let out a breath, a crazy grin spreading on his face. His eyes refocused on me and he started laughing. He looked up at the pouring sky and let out a scream of mirth, lifting his hands up to the sky. "I can't believe it!" He exclaimed in delight. "It seems like God is watching over me, leading me to success!"

I was thinking that maybe he lost his mind, because nothing he was saying made sense. I wouldn't be surprised if he did. He was already a lunatic before, anyway.

Said lunatic turned his green eyes back to me. "I can't let you go, now, honey." He narrowed his eyes at me and grinned. "You're much too precious a gem for me to let go of, now."

I was surprised my anger didn't come rushing back. Instead, fear and confusion wound its way into my gut. But before I could react to his statement, he shot forward at surprising speed and clawed at my face. Instinctively, I stepped back, missing those sharp edges by a hair. But unfortunately, he wasn't trying to wound me. It was a feint.

The man disappeared, and then reappeared behind me, grabbing my wrists in one clawed hand and locking them behind my back. While I was too stunned to react, he stepped closer and wound his arm around me, pressing his claws to my stomach. It would pierce my skin if I moved at all.

Fear and mortality rushed through my veins. The thought that I might not even live through the next minute sounded through my head, and my knees started shaking again. Overhead, the downpour increased, soaking me through immediately. The furry man behind me was already starting to smell like wet fur. _Ew._

Understandably, I froze. "What do you want?" I heard myself whisper.

I could feel him breath down my neck. "Your allegiance."

_What? Why? Why do you need me to ally with you? Why do you need allies anyway? Why me? What's the point of using my allegiance? What's he trying to get? How many questions have I asked myself? I don't really know. Am I talking to myself? Great. I'm turning into a lunatic too. _

_Hell no, by the way. I'm so not allying with a loon. _"No, of course not." I exclaimed in disbelief. "Are you crazy?" Don't answer that.

A sharp pain stabbed my abdomen when he sunk his claws into my stomach lightly. "Do you want to rethink your answer, honey?" He asked dangerously. "I can provide you with incentive if you wish."

I bit my lip._ I might die. I might die right now. _I closed my eyes, considering my chances. I didn't, by any chance, want to ally with a weirdo for a cause I don't even know. But I didn't, by any chance, want to die, either.

I gulped.

_I guess there's no choice, then. _

You see, the thing is. I can't fight. I've mentioned that before.

I tensed my body, preparing myself for what was coming. _Yes._ _I can't fight. I accept that fact wholeheartedly._

Closing my eyes, I screamed as loudly as I could. In surprise, the cat-man let go of me again. Keeping my eyes closed, I threw my arms and feet around wildly, mustering up every bit of my strength.

_I can't fight. But I can __**flail**__. _

What? Don't expect me to come up with anything cool.

"You idiot!" The man shrieked, trying to dodge the onslaught of fists and feet. "You bloody fool!"

I managed to get a lucky hit on the side of his face. I opened my eyes to see him rubbing the side of his temple with the balls of his palm as he staggered unsteadily, in front of me. Seeing my chance, I pushed him forward so that he fell back onto the grass, and I kicked his head like I would a football (not that I know how to play soccer), hoping I could knock him out.

No such luck.

His kick hit my face before I saw it coming. He's fast. I'll give him that. As I fell back, my teeth scratched the inside of my mouth, and I felt my cheeks fill up with blood. It trickled down my chin before I could spit it out.

As I fell back onto the grass, I knew the death blow was coming. In a last-minute attempt to preserve my life, I haphazardly threw my arms in front of my face._ Like that'll help, anyway. _

* * *

_Where the hell did she go, now? _

Portgas D. Ace groaned audibly as he sprinted through the woods of the island. It seemed as if she had disappeared from the island itself. He had covered every nook and cranny of the village, very ungraciously woken up every villager, and even though it seemed like something she wouldn't do, searched the woods thoroughly.

And there was no sight of her.

He sighed. Falling for her was definitely a stroke of bad luck. I mean, she never brought about anything _but _bad luck. In Arabasta, she had nearly died. In Winterhawk, she got chased by a bunch of bounty hunters. And then she brought on that stupid hurricane, which got them into _this _mess.

Everywhere she went, it was like bad luck was _following _her.

He grinned. Part of him wondered why he even fell for her. Sure, she was pretty, but does that even count for anything? The world was filled with pretty girls. And if it was 'pretty' he was looking for, all he had to _do _was go to a tavern. One word and they were his.

But this girl. This girl, who was as immature and uncoordinated as a child would be. This girl was making him go all topsy-turvy and crazy. It was unbelievable. With a smirk, he thought of how much Marco and the others would have teased him about this.

As he mulled over his thoughts, he felt a sudden drop in temperature – to the north. Feeling suspicious, he started heading that way. Pretty soon, he broke out of the trees onto the powdery sand of the island's beach, bleached white under the moonlight.

There was a sandbank connecting this island to another one, not so far away. If he was fast, he could get there in ten minutes.

Then he saw it. He saw the storm cloud over the second island. It was like nature was trying to screw up that area in particular. _Bad luck, _he thought with a jolt. There's no doubt she's over there.

And then he ran.

* * *

I was angry. I mean, who was he? Who was he to decide when or how I will die? I planned to get back home, and I wanted to carry out my plan no matter what I did. I was furious.

It was weird, because I could actually _feel_ the anger, rushing through me like some weird adrenaline rush. I could feel the fury pulsing in my fingertips; I could feel it thudding against my ears.

And then the anger was radiating from my body. It was pouring out of me, directed at the weird man before me.

It didn't help my situation at all, though. I felt a sudden rush of wind, and somehow knew that the man was charging. I felt death rush upon me as it cut through the falling rain.

But it never reached.

Because when I opened my eyes, I saw that the cat-man was trembling as he stared wide-eyed at something behind me. Something I couldn't see. And even though he was my enemy, the alarm in his eyes terrified me to no ends.

I followed his gaze, and then I saw it.

_What the…_

I was surprised I didn't hear it coming. The wave was huge, towering, and _fast_. It was at least thrice as tall as the wave that wrecked our little fishing boat. It hadn't crashed yet, but it was tipping dangerously over the edge.

_What the fuck?_

And then the wave crashed.

* * *

**A/N:** Teehee! More chaos! Oh, how I love chaos and confusion. I'll try and update soon! :) Do review, all of you.

Pretty please, with Chopper and cherries on top?


	17. Disbelief

**A/N: **Tadaaaaa! I spent the whole day writing this new chapter! :3 Because you guys were complaining (more than usual, of course) about the cliffhanger. And also, readers, as a New Years' gift, I give you an extra-long chapter!

Thank you to my quick reviewers, **_aqua-empress, SilentScreaming1944, CallmeEevee,_**and **_CountessDraculara_! **:D I love you guys! :3

Heeheee!

Oh yes! I almost forgot. Before we start reading the chapter... I present to you... Ace in a prince's outfit! Oh, yes. Read on. You'll see. *winks*

* * *

The world had turned into churning, raging water. I found myself being washed to the far edge of the clearing, spluttering and coughing out salt water. I thought my biggest worry would be trying to stay afloat, but that wasn't a problem. The water was making sure I was buoyant.

However, the trees proved to be another problem. I couldn't see anything besides the flurry of water and waves around me. I promptly crashed, face first, into the first tree at the edge of the meadow, and felt the air rush out of my body.

_!_

I hung on to the tree trunk for my life, wheezing slightly. _Thank god I didn't get a full-blown attack. _All I could think about was holding onto the tree with everything I had.

A few ways away from me, I saw the cat-man sinking. He could swim just as well as any other Devil's Fruit user could – that is, he _can't. _This didn't really bother me, but seeing the man incited another thought in me.

_Kimsha! _She had been knocked out! I have to go find her.

I sighed internally. _It's so not something I want to do. _But I've become slightly adventurous – out of necessity more than choice – ever since I've been teleported to this crazy world.

So I took a deep breath and then let go.

I swam through the water – which was now a bit steady – trying to find a familiar mop of curly red hair. It was surprisingly easy to find her, as she suddenly floated past me. I grabbed her limp body and kicked to the surface before checking her breathing and pulse.

It was still steady. _I always knew she was a survivor. _

I was thinking about a safe place to hide Kimsha while I could, but I didn't have enough time. Almost as quickly as the wave came, it dissipated into the trees as we slowly sunk down onto the muddy grass.

It was still raining, though, and I was feeling very cold. A few yards away from me, the cat-man lay on the grass, breathing heavily and coughing out water. I had a minute head-start at the most.

I threw Kimsha over my shoulder and started running – as fast as I could with a thirteen-year-old on my back – towards the trees. _Come on, come on, Ruby! Make it before the psycho recovers! _

As usual, no such luck.

I heard him pursuing me before I saw him. He snarled as he whizzed across the grass. I _told_ you he was fast. Terror pumped through my veins. He would catch up to me, and he would kill me. I was sure of it. Feeling desperate, I accelerated as much as I could.

I almost made it to the trees. Almost.

The young red-head slid off my back and landed on the soft grass as my pursuer caught up to me. I had no time to think about her, because then, the cat-man gripped both my shoulders with his claws – a sharp pain ripped through me – and slammed me painfully against the nearest tree. He held onto me with one hand while he ran a claw down my thigh, tearing open the flesh. I cried out in pain and he silenced me with the heel of his palm.

"You think you're funny, aren't you, honey?" He said dangerously, his voice dripping with poison. "You thought you could outsmart the great Zebi, didn't you?" I glared back at him defiantly. His green eyes stared back just as spiritedly. "If you won't give me your allegiance, I _will _kill you."

I wasn't even scared anymore. I was terrified to the point where I was almost numb with fear.

"_I don't care!" _I screamed, but it came out muffled against his palm. I know he caught the words anyway, because his green eyes glinted dangerously before he pressed onto my abdomen – like before – with one of his clawed hands. Another jolt of pain shot through my body.

I screamed against his hand and tears sprung from my eyes. They streaked down my bloody cheeks. "_Die!_" I wanted to shriek.

The cat-man – Zebi, he called himself – slid his hand down to my neck, making sure not to – fatally – cut my throat. He squeezed his hand (not the claws) around my neck and lifted me up into the air. I couldn't breathe.

"I'm not going to let you go easy." His snarl was the last thing I heard before my cognitive functions slipped away from me.

I started seeing stars, and I knew my throat was going to be badly bruised if I lived through this. I blindly kicked around my feet, but all I met was air. The cold rain splattered down onto my face, but I couldn't see.

I couldn't see anything. I couldn't breathe. I was dying.

And then all of a sudden, he let go.

I fell to the ground, but before I hit the grass, he swiped at my stomach. Intense pain ripped through my abdomen as my skin cut open. A wave of nausea rolled through me as I saw my blood splatter the grass. The pain was burning inside me. It was flaming, and it was merciless. I screamed and flailed. Pain, more intense than any pain I ever felt before, rolled through all my nerves.

I hit the grass with a thud. I lay there, waiting for the next onslaught of pain to attack me. At that instant, I wished that death would rescue me from the agony I was feeling, and from the pain I was sure to feel next.

I _wanted _to die.

I was losing consciousness, but I could still focus my eyes on the man in front of me. The killer, the murderer, the kidnapper. Through my burning pain, I couldn't help but wonder what was driving him to this gory. I couldn't help but wonder why he wanted to do this.

I couldn't see very well, but I waited for the man to strike as I lay there, weak and helpless. But he didn't. Instead, he started coughing up blood. It trickled down his chin as he fell forward. His eyes rolled into his head and as he fell down, I saw the knife stuck in his back.

Zebi was dead. There was no doubt about it.

_It's a new enemy. A new killer. _

My weak eyes roved the field for the new opponent, but all my eyes found was… was… a familiar face. A tall, slender figure; soft, pink lips; a bob of straight black hair figure framing her gentle face. Zomi, it was Zomi, the traitor, in all her bubble-gum glory. Behind her stood an unfamiliar teenage boy, clutching her free hand. _Night Tsukimaru, _I guessed. So he's safe.

Even in my weak state, the fury rolled through my veins as I saw her. But something was wrong… why did she kill her uncle? Why was she looking down at that carcass with hatred? Why did she look at me tearfully? Why did she fall to her knees beside me and apologize for what she did?

What the hell was going on?

I was slipping now. Once I slip from consciousness, I had no hope of ever waking up. My vision was receding, but I saw him. I saw him fall beside me, brown eyes wide with worry. I saw him looking down at my wounds in fear. I faintly heard his voice as he called out my name. I barely felt it when his strong hand gripped my cold hand tightly.

The last thing I noticed before I fainted was that Ace was wearing his ridiculously ugly orange hat. I mean, _really_?

* * *

_The sky was a stormy grey, not unlike the eyes of a certain, brooding teenager that sat atop a stony cliff, glaring out at the rough, wild ocean. Her long, black hair flew behind her wildly, and she sat with her knees curled up to her chin. Her alabaster skin was freckled with goose bumps, chilled with the wind. _

_Behind her, leaning against an old willow stood a tall, skinny boy with a mop of messy dark hair on his head. His expression was harsh, but as he looked down at his little sister, his blue eyes glistened with surprising fondness. _

"_Ruby." He said gently._

"_Go away," the girl said grumpily, burying her head in between her knees, "I don't need anybody." _

"_Ruby," he repeated again, "you know Mom and Dad didn't mean it." _

"_Yes they did," she growled, "they don't want me around, and I know it. Nobody wants me around." _

"_I do. Miki does." Jason pointed out in a matter-of-fact tone. "Look." He said softly. "They love you. And so do I. We all make mistakes, we're only human. Ruby, just because you're not perfect"—_

_His younger sister cut him off violently. "Shut up, Jason! What would you know?" She yelled at him, not even bothering to look back. "You're a straight-A student and you never get in trouble at school. I? I get in trouble every freaking period, and I've never managed above a C- minus in my entire life! What would you know?" _

_In response, her older brother walked over to her before kneeling down beside her. "I __**do **__know what it feels like to not be wanted, Ruby." His little sister didn't reply to this, so he just stared out at the stormy grey. _

_The silence between them carried on for a while before his little sister timidly looked up at him. "You really want me around?" She asked tentatively. _

_Jason smirked. _Duh, _he thought. But instead he said, "I'll have more chores to do if you were gone." _

_His little sister grinned at him before giving him a light shove. "That sounds tempting." She said in a light tone as he laughed. _

_All of a sudden, in a rare show of affection, Ruby hugged her older brother. Jason looked down at her in surprise, raising an eyebrow as she rested her head on his shoulder. "You know, Jason," she said, "You need to gain weight. Work out a bit." _

_Jason smiled. "Nah. That's a waste of time. Who cares how I look, anyway?" He ruffled his fourteen-year-old sister's hair. _

_Said sister laughed before lapsing into silence. "Jason." She said after a while. _

"_Mm?" He grunted. _

"_Love you." _

_Jason smiled. _Love you too. _"What do you want me to do for you?" He joked. _

"_Shit!" Ruby giggled cheerfully. "I've been found out!" _

"_Dummy." _

_She stuck her tongue out at him. "Loser." _

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I found myself staring up at a glass ceiling. Through it, the sun shone through, surrounded by a brilliant azure sky. Even though I remembered everything that happened before I passed out, I felt surprisingly at ease. I was lying on a surprisingly soft bed in an elegantly decorated room. The floor I could see was covered with beautifully decorated white tiles, and the walls were draped with dark red curtains. _Where am I? _

_How long was I out? _

There was a rotten taste in my mouth, and my throat felt as dry as sawdust, so I guessed quite a while. Also, my stomach growled hungrily. I raised a weak hand to my stomach, and found it bandaged. The wound still stung slightly when I stirred, but it felt much better than before.

Next to me, I felt something stir. I turned my head to find a familiar, cocoa-skinned face, framed by a cloud of wild red hair. Kimsha was fast asleep on an ornate chair, but she had rested her head on my bed. She was clutching one of my hands tightly while she snored softly.

I felt a rush of affection for the young girl, and I smiled weakly before sitting up. My shoulders were also bandaged, and so was my thigh. These wounds didn't hurt much, but my abdomen stung quite a bit. I figured I could live with it, though.

Almost immediately, a blonde clad in a white coat bustled in between one of the curtains to my left. She had a motherly look to her, and she was clutching a tray containing food. The woman looked to be around thirty-five, and as she smiled at me, I couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm glad you're finally awake, Ruby. My name is Joanna," she said gently, placing the tray on my lap, "how are you feeling?"

I smiled at her. _I like her already. _"I'm feeling fine. I think I'll be able to walk."

Her smile widened. "Vogel-sama is an excellent doctor," she said reverently, "your wounds will be nothing but scars in just a matter of two days."

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. My wounds were quite deep, after all. And who was this mysterious Vogel-sama? I figured I should find him and thank him.

But for now, I smiled at Joanna. "Thank you for the food." I looked down at the plate, which contained about a dozen of almost holy-looking meat pastries and a tall glass of coconut milk. My stomach growled hungrily. "Please do give my thanks to Vogel-sama."

While I ate, Joanna was smiling at Kimsha fondly. "That girl," she said, "all but refused to leave from your side. She's been with you since she woke up two days ago."

I must have been out for more than that. Three days, maybe? I smiled at Kimsha. "Yes, she's very stubborn like that." I grinned at Joanna before resuming my ingestion.

"By the way," I asked in between mouthfuls, "where am I?"

"Oh, of course," she said, smiling, "you're in the royal palace."

I blinked in surprise. _Whoa. Why? _"You're kidding?" I asked, taking a sip of the coconut juice. It was delicious, just like the food. "The king of Midorishima Kingdom is here?"

She smiled at me. "The king of Midorishima Kingdom is Vogel-sama."

_Oh. _I raised my eyebrows. Vogel-sama must be a good king, seeing as he offered to get his hands dirty on my wounds. I finished my food in silence while Joanna caressed Kimsha's wild curls softly.

"So," I said, taking the last gulp of coconut juice. I felt much better. "Where are my other friends?"

"Zomi-chan and the others?" She enquired, and I nodded. "They're out in the royal garden, having a chat with Vogel-sama."

I wondered if it would be too much to ask if I could join them. I looked at her cautiously, wondering how to phrase my request. "Could I… could I…?" I stammered uneasily. I wanted to hear the full story from Zomi.

She nodded and smiled at me in a motherly way. "Of course. You'll be fine to walk, now. Let's wake up your little friend and we'll go join them in the royal garden."

* * *

The royal garden happened to be an entire field of flowers (roses, lilies, orchids… you name it), surrounded by walls of palm trees and moringa trees – the woods. So the palace was nestled deep in the woods. No wonder I never saw it. In the middle of the flowers was a small circle of cropped grass where a couple of benches stood underneath a shaded thatched roof. On one of the benches sat a bearded, strong-looking old man wearing a white robe. On the other sat Zomi, and the brown-haired boy I saw before I passed out. Night Tsukimaru. The three were lost in a deep discussion. I wondered where Ace was.

I walked down the grassy path leading to the small, open hut, supported by Kimsha and Joanna. My wound stung slightly, but I felt fine. When Zomi saw us walking down the path, she smiled and waved at us. The bearded man turned his head back and smiled slightly as I entered the hut.

"Ruby," he said in a deep, booming voice, "are you feeling well?"

I smiled and nodded, bowing slightly. "Yes sir."

He smiled at me – his eyes crinkled with crow's feet – and he motioned for me to sit next to him. I limped over to the bench and sat down carefully. Kimsha sat down next to Night, while Joanna retreated from the hut with a slight bow. I waved to her as she left.

"So," I said, turning back to the audience. I felt awkward. I had no idea how to be polite. "What are you… people… discussing?" I said after a lot of thought, staring right at Zomi. She had some explaining to do, after all.

She smiled back at me sadly. Her green eyes were sincere. "I'm sorry, Ruby." She said softly. "I'm sorry for not telling you. I tried to protect you all, but my uncle sensed that and carried out the plan without telling me."

"What plan?" I asked curiously. The bearded man – the king, Vogel-sama, leaned back on the bench and stared outside at the field of flowers. The air was fresh with the almost over-powering scent of flora.

Zomi looked down at her knees, trying to find the words to say. I let her think. Feeling a pair of eyes on me, I turned my gaze to face Night Tsukimaru. His light gray eyes had no pupil, and were strangely blank. And even though he was staring straight at me, his face was serene, void of any emotion. Even though Zomi told me he was blind, I would have noticed. Kimsha nudged him and whispered something in his ear.

As, I guessed, a reaction to her words, he smiled slightly and held out a hand. "I'm Night." He said in a quiet voice. "Thank you for everything you did, Ruby-san."

I grinned, even though he couldn't see me. "It was nothing." (Actually, it was, but I didn't mention it. I sound cool this way) I accepted his hand and shook it slightly before letting go. "Nice to meet you, Night." Next to him, Kimsha smiled at him fondly. I raised an eyebrow. It was an odd expression to find on her face. She never stared at _anything _fondly.

Vogel-sama observed us with a slight smile on his wrinkled face. He was a quiet man of few words, but he had a weathered and wizened look in his eyes.

"I told you my family and I got shipwrecked, and I was the only one who survived, right?" Zomi finally said, looking up at me. I nodded, and she continued. "I lied about two things. My uncle survived with me, because it was never a shipwreck."

She sighed deeply, as if talking about this was difficult. "My uncle murdered everyone aboard the ship – my parents included. I didn't know how he managed to find this island, since it doesn't have a magnetic field, but he did. He landed on that uninhabited island, and destroyed our ship. He didn't kill me under one condition. I could start living in the village, and he would supply me with food and necessities so long as I obey his every command. I was very little, and I didn't know very well, so I had no choice but to listen to my uncle."

She took another deep breath and took a glance at the King. He nodded slowly, encouraging her to go on. Zomi swallowed before speaking. "My uncle was a Revolutionary."

I raised an eyebrow, because I had no idea what a Revolutionary was. But asking it also seemed like a stupid question, because everyone else wore looks of surprise on their faces. I made a note to ask Ace later.

"He worked to overthrow the World Government with the other Revolutionaries"—_oh, so that's what Revolutionaries do (I guess I don't have to ask Ace) _—"but he got kicked out because his methods were too selfish.

"Zebi-ojisan wanted to be the leader of the world, even though he was weaker than most of the Revolutionaries. So he sought power"—_why the fuck did he want me, then? I can't even fight_ –"And through Shiva, his eyes and ears"—

I interrupted her at that point. "What happened to Shiva, anyway?" I asked, remembering the tall lynx that had lured me to my death.

Zomi set her lips in a grim line. "I wish I knew. I guess she's around here somewhere, but Shiva's not as bad as you might think. Zebi-ojisan had forced her to act that way. She won't harm you if you don't harm her." I found this hard to believe, but I let her continue the story.

"Through Shiva, he found out about Night-kun. And ever since then, he has wanted him and his power." She looked at Night, who looked down forlornly. "Since Night-kun was living with Kimsha-chan and I, Zebi-ojisan thought it would be easy to get him." She took a deep breath here. "But I resisted and made up excuses to protect them, because the two of them had been more family to me then Zebi-ojisan had ever been."

She closed her eyes. "Everything was fine, for a while. But then Night-kun disappeared. And I knew it was my uncle's doing. I was so heartbroken, but it was Kimsha-chan's pain that lead me to go to you guys for help." When she opened her eyes, they glistened wetly. "I had no idea, Ruby-chan, that Zebi-ojisan would want Ace-kun as well. I really had no idea. If I did, I wouldn't have involved you in this mess at all."

I believed her. She swallowed and blinked away a few tears before carrying on thickly. "I wanted to wait till the morning to pursue my uncle, because I wanted to keep the three of you out of trouble. I had planned to go in the middle of the night, when all of you were asleep, but when I woke up, I found the house empty." She smiled. "I should have known you guys would do something like that, but at the moment, I was frantic. I ran as fast as I could to the other island, where I found Night-kun tied to a tree."

She took a deep breath again. "I took him with me to the clearing, where I found Ruby-chan lying in the middle of the field in a very, very scary pool of blood. Zebi-ojisan stood over her, ready to strike. I had never seen him that angry before." She laughed a bit lightly. "Whatever you did, Ruby-chan, you certainly did _something._"

I smiled sheepishly. I thanked god nobody saw my embarrassing flail-fest. Talk about a thorn in my pride.

The smile wiped off Zomi's face and she took a deep breath. "Killing my uncle was something I didn't want to do, but I did it out of necessity." She finished quietly. "Because he harmed my friends."

A deep silence followed her thoughts. I chewed on my lip lightly, scratching my cheek. I still had no idea why he wanted _me _so badly. I'm just about as powerful as a dead fish. No, I'm probably worse. At least you could slap a person with a dead fish.

Zomi looked up at me tearfully. "Please forgive me, Ruby-chan."

I took only a moment to think, and then smiled at her. "You suck for not telling me the whole truth. But I forgive you anyway." I grinned cheerfully, and she smiled back.

"Anyway," I said finally, forgetting all about the fact that there was a King in my presence, "where the fuck is Ace?"

The King raised an eyebrow at my vulgar language, but thankfully didn't rebuke me. "Your friend is waiting outside the palace grounds." He gestured to the woods on the far side of the royal palace. I raised an eyebrow. _Why? _"He did not want to join us."

"Why not?"

The King sighed, and then glanced very carefully at Kimsha, Night and Zomi. "You'll see." He said carefully. I got his message. It was something he couldn't say in front of the other three. But what?

I excused myself from his presence and started walking back down the grassy path. My wound hurt, but not so much. I could bear the pain. The royal palace was an elegantly built, two-storey building. Judging by the carvings, texture and color, I'd say it was built from limestone. It was a pretty, historic building, but it bore the air of a place that was looked after well.

I skirted around the building, and started limping down the sandy path that led to the woods.

* * *

I found him not so far away from the palace, sitting against a willow, his hat tipped down to hide his face. I wondered if he was asleep, but then he grabbed a fistful of leaves from the sandy ground. They blazed in his hand before he threw the fireball violently to a big rock in front of him. It left a black, ashy mark on the rock. I noticed that the rock bore several other similar marks, and guessed that he had been doing this for a while. I wondered why.

"Ace?" I asked carefully. "Are you okay?"

He didn't even look up at me. Instead, he grabbed another fistful of leaves. "Go away, Ruby." He muttered darkly.

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against a coconut palm tree. "What's bothering you?" I said, ignoring his last statement.

A fireball blazed the rock again. "Go away." He said grumpily. "It's nothing."

I raised an eyebrow at the moody pirate. "Yeah," I snorted, "right. Vogel-sama sent me here to look for you."

He looked up at me, and his eyes blazed fiercely. "I don't care what that bastard wants!" He yelled furiously, and I felt my eyes widen in surprise. He just called the King a bastard. How can the King be a bastard? He was a nice guy.

"Hey," I said defensively, "He's better than most world leaders. He even fixed me up." I tapped the bandages on my body as proof.

Ace set his jaw in a grim line, and stood up from the foot of the willow furiously. I walked towards him. "You're being an ass." I said, rolling my eyes. "You don't even know the man." I looked up at his furious expression.

He scowled. "You won't understand."

I glared up at him. "Try me."

He turned away from me and glared at the willow instead. "I'm the son of the Pirate King. My father is Gol D. Roger, and everyone in the World Government hates me."

_Oh yeah. I remember something like this. _His words stirred an old question in my mind. _I still can't remember who Blackbeard is._

"So?" I asked. "I don't care. You could be the son of Hitler for all I care. You'd be the same to me." I said softly. "I still don't understand why you hate the King so much."

Ace turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Who's Hitler?" He asked confusedly, previous anger forgotten.

I blinked in surprise. Did I say Hitler? Oops. "Someone from my country." I said hastily. "A bad guy. Never mind him. Why do you hate the King so much?"

The scowl returned on his face, and I was startled to find tears in his eyes. "Because he loves me."

I was too stunned to react. _He calls __**me **__odd. _"That's a bad thing… why?" I asked cautiously.

"He loves me because I'm the son of the Pirate King. Gol D. Vogel is my father's long-lost older brother."

_What. The. **Fuck.**_

_**... **_

_Wait. That would make him ROYAL. Sort of. Like a PRINCE. _

_What the FUCK!? _

* * *

**A/N: **Told you you'll see. Also, please excuse Ruby's vulgar language. She has a tendency to be like that sometimes.

TEEHEE~ I'll update soon!

Warning: This chapter was not re-read. If a mistake is found, please alert the author immediately.


	18. Confusion

**A/N: ***crying happy tears* Thank you for all the reviews, you guys! I absolutely loved seeing your reactions to that little running gag I put at the end of that chapter~ Teeheeheeheeheee~ But don't worry. Ace isn't going to settle down, become a prince, and make Ruby his princess. No, no, no. I can't afford to let that happen and completely ruin the beautiful plot I've already outlined for this story! Yet another character (who will be a major supporting character in the upcoming arc) will be introduced in this chapter. I think you'll like him. I like him, too.

Also, I didn't reread this chapter either (I find rereading boring, sadly) but I'm hoping there won't be any major mistakes in this. If you do spot a huge mistake, do alert me at once. You guys will love the next arc! HEEHEEHEEHEEEHEEE FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF AND ROMANTIC DEVELOPMENT HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEE!

Thank you _**aqua-empress,**_ _**pizzafan123**__**nilu,** __**SweetCandyKeyk, CallmeEevee, ichigo1508, SilentScreaming1944, frostmoon13, CountessDraculara, Kairi-Ichimaru15, ToxicBoost,** _and _**Naili!** _

Please do read and review! :D

And so without further ado..

* * *

I'm convinced of it, now. I'm convinced that someone is behind all of this weirdness. Because I'm sure the universe _can't _be able to conjure up this nonsense on its own.

So, let's take a quick recap shall we? First, I wake up to find myself falling from the sky. I happen to land in Arabasta, which just so happens to be a fictional city created by a human back from my world. Then, I somehow find myself on a boat with a famous pirate commander, A.K.A Firefist Ace. I meet a weird guy – also a weird pirate – that happens to have the exact same eyes as I do. Then, the little fishing boat I was traveling on finds itself smack in the middle of a hurricane, and we wash up on the shore of an atoll, which is ruled by a King named Vogel, who just so happens to be the brother of the Pirate King. Said Pirate King's son just so happens to be the famous pirate commander I was traveling with.

This would make the aforementioned pirate commander a _prince _by blood.

Excuse me, but what the fuck? Be damned if you expect me to comprehend all of this! How is that even possible? I realize that since Vogel-sama is a long-lost brother of the Pirate King, it _is _possible. But then again, Princess Diana might have been my long-lost aunt, if you consider it that way.

Augh, this is _so _annoying! I hate this anime to no ends!

"_Okay." _I had told Ace. "_Um, that's wonderful." _

"_No, it's not!" _He had said stubbornly. "_I'm not going to accept this! I am not related to Gol D. Roger in anyway. My name is Portgas D. Ace. I am not related to that bastard King! My father is Whitebeard! I'M A PIRATE! NOT A STUPID, SISSY PRINCE!" _

I had taken a deep breath before sighing. I really hadn't known what to say. I felt like my brain had decided to just cut open my skull, walk straight out of my cranial cavity screaming, 'I QUIT!' "_Okay, Ace. Okay. I'm, um, going to go now." _Then I had proceeded to escape from that situation as fast as my injured self would carry me, because I knew my head was going to blow up any second.

Later, I found myself sitting down on the stretch of beach which lay east to the royal palace, pondering about how much I hate my life. The surf crashed lazily on the powdery white sand of the shoreline, and the brilliant blue sun shone down upon the turquoise blue of the lagoon.

_God damn it. God damn that stupid __**royal **__pirate. God damn this stupid anime. God damn this stupid atoll. God damn this stupid ocean. God damn this stupid sky. God damn my stupid luck. God damn my stupid life. GOD DAMN EVERYTHING! _

In the distance, over the watery horizon lay the hazy silhouette of another island. It wasn't connected to the atoll, so part of my mind wondered what kind of island it was. The bigger part of my mind was still screaming profanities over the new happenings of the day.

"GOD?" I yelled at the vast blue sky. "I KNOW I HAVEN'T BEEN VERY ATTENTIVE ABOUT YOU OF LATE, BUT IS THAT REALLY ANY CAUSE TO PUNISH ME THIS WAY?"

_I hate my life. _

I sighed, and buried my head in my knees. I was so absorbed in my confusion that I didn't notice that someone had walked onto the stretch of sand, and then proceeded to sit next to me. At least, I didn't notice this until said person placed a hand on my shoulder, alerting me from my reverie.

_What now? _Trying not to look annoyed, I lifted my head up from my knees and turned my head around to see who decided to come and check on my whereabouts. "Yeah?" I said very ungraciously.

I blinked in surprise. An unfamiliar young man was sitting next to me. He had very pale, alabaster skin, and silky dark hair that framed a beautiful face. It wasn't that he didn't look manly… he just looked… pretty. His face was pointed, but had soft corners. He had glittering obsidian eyes that spoke of tragic pasts and secrets to be uncovered, and a part of me was curious about what he was hiding. His lips were slightly open and upturned, as if he was brooding about something. He was lean and tall, and looked to be in his early twenties. He was dressed in a blue button-down shirt and khaki shorts. And he was so good-looking that it made me blush. My heart fluttered as the salty breeze blew my way, letting me catch his scent; lilies… with just a hint of musk.

"Miss Ruby?" He asked in a deep, soft purr of a voice.

All I could do was blink. I felt like I was bewitched under a spell. "I… I…" I stammered, trying to find the right words to say. He reminded me of those perfect guys from Shoujo mangas. _What do they call guys like that again? Bishounen, right? _

"I'm Elliot," he said in his adorable little voice again, "the King's son." _That would make him Ace's cousin. _I shuddered, and immediately discarded the disturbing thought.

I managed a small smile, and I finally found my voice. It came out squeakier than I expected. "H-Hello, your highness." _Yes! It speaks! _"May the heavens bestow upon you a beautiful day, Elliot-sama." _Where the fuck is this weirdness coming from? _

Prince Elliot smiled at me – a tiny, curved smile that lit up his entire face – and I nearly exploded in a shower of hearts. _THAT IS EASILY THE CUTEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN! _"The King requests your presence, Ruby-san." He said in that tiny whisper of a voice. I swear. He was absolutely perfect.

I was smiling so much that my cheeks had started to hurt. "Of course, Elliot-sama." I said, immediately standing up, ignoring the ache in my abdomen. The Bishounen stood up just as gracefully as Zomi would have and waited for me to start walking.

"After you, your highness." I insisted. _Wow. I'm sure this is some kind of spell. _I think I started making him feel uncomfortable at that point, so he just started walking ahead of me before I started kissing his toes. Thank god. That would have been really embarrassing.

* * *

Elliot led me to the throne room of the royal palace. It wasn't as grand as I expected it to be. There was a ceiling-to-floor window that provided a magnificent view of the royal garden, and the limestone walls were decorated grandly with several traditional carvings. The floor was tiled with the same tiles I found in the room I woke up, and there was a wooden platform in the middle of the room, draped with velvet. There was a cushioned chair (an engraving of what I realized was the national emblem ((a trident with a flurry of fishes swirling around the staff)) was on the back of the chair) on the elevated platform which faced the ceiling-to-floor windows. Said chair was currently occupied by the bearded, wizened King.

Elliot walked up to the King, so I followed after him. He bowed slightly, murmuring the words, "Good afternoon, Father." I mimicked his actions.

The King nodded at us and smiled warmly at Elliot. "Son, go inform Joanna to prepare a grand lunch. It seems that we have a lot to discuss with young master Ace"—I nearly snorted upon hearing the words 'young master' used to refer Ace (I've seen him snort water out of nostrils after all) –"and his friends."

I'm pretty sure Ace wouldn't want to discuss _anything_ with Vogel-sama. But Elliot nodded obediently, and with a slight bow, disappeared out of the room. The King then turned his dark eyes to me. I felt my knees bend slightly against his power. _That's curious. I wonder what kind of power that is. _"So," he said, "Is he still brooding?"

I nodded. Brooding was an understatement. The King sighed. "I suppose," he said in his deep, booming voice, "I should have expected that. That boy has grown." His eyes crinkled with a smile. "He resembles Roger in his younger days, but has Rouge's demeanor and expressions exactly." Rouge must be his mothers' name.

I politely waited for the King to return to the present. "Roger stopped by here before he turned himself in, you know." He sighed. "He told me he was expecting a child. Roger loved Rouge dearly, and he hated himself for having to leave his child behind. But when I offered to look after his child, Roger laughed and said that no child of his would have liked living in royalty." _I know Ace certainly won't._

I smiled, even though I didn't really understand why he was telling _me _all this.

Then the smile wiped off his face, and King Vogel regarded me very seriously. "Ruby," he said quietly, "you need to become strong."

_Why? _I wanted to ask. _All I wanted to do is go home. _But instead of grumbling to the King and risk getting my head chopped off (even though I know he won't really do that), I nodded respectfully, and he continued. "You need to prepare yourself for the long journey ahead of you."

I couldn't help but sigh. _Here we go again. _Everyone keeps telling me about some long journey and self-fulfilling expedition, but I really don't understand _why_. I'm just a normal – albeit slightly troubled – teenager from a normal city from a _normal _world, and I just want to go home! I don't want to poke my head into this business. "Sir," I said, losing my patience, "May I ask why?"

Gol D. Vogel remained silent for a moment and then looked down at me. "You need to find that out on your own." _Oh goody._ "It is not in my hands to disrupt the flow of fate." Yes, yes, of course. Let the teenager risk her life on her own.

He was about to say more, but then we heard a deafening crash, and the smashing of glass from a room nearby. "Oh dear," The king said, getting up from his throne, "What must have happened now?"

The King thought maybe Ace was having a stubborn fit of temper, but I had a sneaking suspicion I knew who caused the disturbance (it's not Ace; he's not that bad-mannered). I followed the King through a hallway and into a small lounge. The floor was carpeted in velvet, and there was a huge flat-screen television set in one side of the room. The walls were draped completely with several red curtains, and there were two divans in the middle of the room.

The deafening crash had come from the sound of one of the stereos crashing onto a delicate glass vase. Or rather, what _used _to be a delicate glass vase. All that was left of the vase was a thousand little pieces of glass scattered onto the velvet floor, underneath and around a humongous stereo. Night stood by the fallen stereo, blinking in surprise, unmoving. Kimsha (I _knew_ she was behind this) was hanging onto the chandelier in the middle of the room (don't ask me how she got there) as it swung precariously from the ceiling.

The King gave a humongous sigh and walked away from the room, throwing his hands up in an 'I-don't-have-time-for-this-just-do-what-you-want' kind of way. I just smiled. It was a wonder it took this _long_ for them to break something.

I heard two pairs of light footsteps racing down the hallway. One pair was coming from the left, and the other pair was coming from the right. A second later, two black-haired beauties (one female, one male) ran into the room, breathless, and simultaneously said, "What on earth is going on in here?"

Zomi spared a surprised glance at Elliot before turning back to Kimsha. (Funny, she didn't seem as bewitched as I was. Perhaps that's because she knows the secret of the spell herself. THAT'S IT! I UNCOVERED THE SECRET! THE SPELL IS THE PRETTINESS!). "What's wrong with you? Do you have any idea how much that vase must cost?" She chided as Kimsha jumped down from the chandelier and hung her head adorably.

Night still stood by the crime scene motionlessly. "Um, Zomi, this was my fault." He interjected quietly. Zomi ignored him.

"How could you be so irresponsible?"

"Er, Zomi… this was sort of—" Night started to say again.

Elliot was staring at Zomi with a raised eyebrow, head slightly tilted to the left. "Kimsha-chan, come—" she broke off midsentence when she noticed the young prince staring at her. She raised an eyebrow coldly. "May I be of assistance?" She asked in a monotone. _Wow. That girl is scary when she's in a temper. _

Then my mind suddenly wandered to the brooding pirate. I_ wonder if Ace has grown out of his stupidity, yet. _

"Er guys," I said, even though I was sure they didn't really hear me, "I'm going to go take a walk." With this, I started going out of the room. Night vaguely nodded, so I knew at least _he_ was paying attention.

"You are intriguing, miss. May I know your name?" Elliot asked Zomi politely as I passed through them, with a look of vague fascination on his face. I didn't hear Zomi's response as I walked down the hallway to the nearest exit. I wanted to sit down. I felt exhausted for some reason. _Must be the mood swings and the medicine. _

Upon reaching the nearest exit, I took a step out onto the neatly trimmed grass, looking out at the royal garden, and took a breath of fresh air. The scent of lilies and roses crept into my airway. The sun was setting, and I was exhausted.

There was no sign of Ace, so I decided to rake through the woods before finally ending my search at the beach. If he wasn't there, then I'll just sleep on the sand. I'm tired enough.

* * *

I found him on the shoreline in all his shirtless glory, looking up at a small boat (it was very much similar to our fishing boat that got destroyed in the hurricane). The rays of the sun broke around the boat, silhouetting it in a golden light. If I was exhausted before, then I was almost overcome with fatigue, now. I had two wheezing fits right in the middle of the woods. And I took almost an hour searching for that _bakaizoku_ in there.

_There you are. _I limped over to where he was standing and tapped him on his shoulder. He jumped and then looked back at me.

"So?" I asked. "What's the plan, Firefist?"

He turned his head back to the boat. "Vogel gave me this ship." He didn't refer to the King as a bastard anymore, so I assumed he had finished being moody about the whole 'Augh-I-found-my-bastard-dad's-relative' thing.

I looked up at the ship. It was almost just like the ship we used to travel on, except that this one looked a bit sturdier and newer. "We're going to leave?" I raised an eyebrow. _I'm going to leave Zomi and Kimsha behind? I didn't even get to know Night properly. _

He turned his back on the steed. "Yeah," he said, looking down at me from under his hat, "I have something to do, remember?" And then he hesitated, looking at the island, and then back at me. I rubbed my eyes sleepily, trying not to yawn.

"Do you want to stay?" He asked a bit sullenly, all of a sudden.

_Stay? _I looked up at him with a confused look. "What do you mean? Stay where?"

"Stay here. With Zomi and the others." He turned away from me again, to face the vegetation. I looked back at the trees as well, taking some time to think. _I do want to stay. Those two have become more than friends to me, even though I sort of hated them at first. _

_But… _I closed my eyes, remembering Vogel-sama's words. _"You need to prepare yourself for the long journey ahead of you." _ The prospect was unappealing. But if trouble was going to follow me wherever I went, I might as well go with Ace.

_Besides, _Law's face flashed in my mind again, _I need to find out more about that man. _

_But then again… _I bit my lip and shook my head, making my decision. "No," I said softly, looking down at my feet, "I'm going with you. I have something to do."

Ace looked back at me, his face serious but his eyes soft. "It's not going to be an easy ride, you know."

I raised an eyebrow at him, ignoring the weird way my heart started racing all of a sudden. "I don't need you to tell me that." I walked over to the ladder of the ship. "I already know."

One thing I've always hated is goodbyes. So I planned to just disappear without telling Kimsha and Zomi that I'm going to leave. _I'm going to miss them so much. _But it was without looking back that I pulled myself onto the ship.

I heard Ace grab the railing and jump onto the main deck, but I didn't look at him either. I felt like crying, even though I felt very in touch with my emotions. So I hid my face and walked into the cabin of the boat. It _was_ identical to the boat we had before. I vaguely wondered why Ace hadn't gotten a grander ship, but then realized that Vogel-sama probably knew Ace wouldn't like that.

I curled up on the sheets and just let the waterworks flow.

* * *

I woke up from my deep sleep to the soothing rhythm of the swaying boat. No light filtered in from the small porthole on the left of the cabin. The sun must have set around two hours ago. It was completely dark outside.

I patted my bandaged stomach lightly. It didn't hurt when I fidgeted anymore, so I decided to go out and annoy Ace a bit. I felt much better.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood up, stretching lightly. _Perhaps I should learn how to handle a boat. It's getting kind of boring being a dead weight. _

I opened the door to the cabin, rubbing my eyes lightly, expecting to find Ace standing by the bow of the ship like usual.

I had to cover my mouth from gasping. Ace was by the bow of the ship, yes. But – and that's a big but – he was tied up. And knocked out, by the look of it.

Fear pumped into my veins. Any predator that was strong enough to knock out and tie up a Whitebeard Commander was definitely strong enough for me to fear for my life. I gulped uneasily. _What if that Zebi weirdo is still alive? _I stood on the deck of the ship, as silently as I could, trying not to breathe too loudly.

It wasn't particularly cold, but goose bumps appeared on my arm and refused to leave. My whole body had chilled from the inside, and I found it difficult to move, all of a sudden. My limbs had shut down. I was numb with fear.

And then, abruptly, two figures jumped down from on top of the cabin. Two very, _very_ familiar figures.

Two pairs of footsteps were walking up to me from behind. They were coming from the stern of the boat, and were making its way around the cabin to where I was standing.

I turned my head back to the two in front. I wasn't scared anymore, but I was so shocked that I couldn't move. Her curly red hair was tied back from her face, but his dark brown hair flew freely with the racing wind. Both of them had demonic grins on their faces. Their teeth glinted in the dark night.

"Hello, Ruby." A soft, bubble-gum pink voice said from behind me. I looked back to stare into a pair of familiar green eyes. An angelic figure stood by the speaker, his pale alabaster skin glowing in the light of the stars. "We're going to a resort together. All of us." She smiled.

The fear returned. _A resort? _

_Zomi… Kimsha… Night… and Elliot? What on earth…? _

…

* * *

King Vogel was sitting in his throne, when a painstaking noise cut through the serene silence of the tropical night, disrupting the king from his tranquility. King Vogel started, and then curiously glanced out at the darkness in confusion as a distant, feminine scream echoed through the trees of the island, scaring away the birds resting in the trees. Then, with a sigh he decided that that Ruby girl and young master Ace must have finally discovered that Elliot and the other three had been hiding in the boat before they boarded it.

* * *

**A/N: **C: DO REVIEW!

I feel that something is a bit off about this chapter. Perhaps I haven't made it detailed enough. I don't know. But I hope you like it, anyway. :3 Let me hear your thoughts about the chapter, and what you think will happen in the new, exciting arc to come!

WE'LL BE BACK TO YOU NEXT TIME WITH "_A HEART OF FIRE"_!

Wow. I've become really dramatic. Ew.


	19. Sharing

**A/N: **A lot of you have asked me whether Kimsha and Zomi are the bad guys. No, they are not. Now that that's cleared out, I have an important announcement to make. ^.^ _**SilentScreaming1944**_ is going to be my beta reader from now on. A round of applause for _**SilentScreaming1944,** _please. :3 YAAY!

Big big thanks to my reviewers, it's always so lovely to see your reviews. Reviews are at least about 75% of my motivation to write, so please please do keep on reviewing~! Thank you **_aqua-empress, aslMeno_**(I loved your long review! :D) _**nilu, SilentScreaming1944,** _and _**Naili**_(Haha, no, he isn't based on L, despite how similar they might be in appearance. That was purely a coincidence.)

Also, to anyone who might be wondering (very few of you, I'm guessing), yes, these islands are based on The Maldives. You don't know what The Maldives is? That's okay. No one does. T_T EVER T_T

AND SO. LET US CONTINUE ONTO THE CHAPTER.

* * *

_Kimsha and Zomi are going to pay for this, later. _

"Okay." I asked, after I had calmed down from the initial shock of seeing the four suddenly in the middle of the ocean. "So, what intrigues me the most is the fact that a prince, a blind kid, a thirteen-year-old and a pretty-faced teenager managed to knock out the second-division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and tie him up." I took a deep breath, leaning against the railing and sparing a glance at Ace's tied-up form, illuminated in the moonlight. "How'd you guys do it?"

Kimsha grinned excitedly. "Well, almost as soon as you walked out of the royal palace, Elliot's father told us to go to the beach and hide in the boat there," She held up a humongous bag, "with this bag of coins"—_Oh mama –"_and wait until you and Ace reach a certain distance away from the atoll before telling you we were here. He warned us that Ace might be a bit difficult about the plan, and to be careful. But lucky for us! He fell asleep!" A wide, sneaky smile lit up her face.

I took a deep breath. _Of course. Stupid narcoleptic royal pirate._

Night leaned against the wall of the cabin and tucked his hands into his pockets before speaking quietly. "Elliot here can man a boat, apparently. Ace had been leading the boat in another direction, according to his Log Pose, but we"—he took out an Eternal Pose (I found out what that was from Ace) with the words _Midorishima Resort _engraved onto the top from his pocket – "have turned the boat around and are now heading course towards the only island in the atoll with a magnetic field. We'll be there in an hour, tops."

_Interesting. That must be where they get their foreign exports from. _I sighed, surprisingly calm. "You know," I jerked my head towards Ace, "he's not going to be happy when he wakes up."

Kimsha walked over to the sleeping pirate and gave him a smack on his head – _OI DON'T DO THAT HE'LL KILL YOU WHEN HE WAKES UP –_, grinning. "He's going to have to suck it up and live with it."

I sighed. "I assume just as much." But then I smiled. "A resort, huh?" They did have resorts back at Greece, of course. But we never really had enough money to actually go to one._ I'm sort of excited._

I turned my gaze on Zomi, who was almost unnaturally quiet. She was clenching her teeth together and fiddling with her hands, a light blush on her pretty face. Elliot stood right next to her, almost touching, gazing at her in a way that would have normally made me puke, but on a bishounen that's super-skilled with the witchcraft of seduction somehow seemed to work the opposite. Zomi, though, was trying her best not to look at him. "What's wrong with _you_, Zomi?" I asked in surprise.

"I'm trying not to hit him." She said in between her teeth, grimacing at Elliot. "He's been like this ever since we got on the boat."

_Oh yeah. Zomi is a bishoujo who is also a master with the witchcraft of seduction. Elliot's sorcery doesn't work on her. _

Aforementioned bishounen grinned widely – a chorus of angels erupted into song – and laughed his light, adorable little laugh. "Zomi-chan is so elated by my feelings for her that she just hasn't been able to comprehend it completely yet."

"I'll comprehend your freaking butt." She muttered back ungraciously in a manner that was most unlike Zomi.

Kimsha stood at the bow of the boat, looking out at the dark depths excitedly. On the horizon, a low shape rose out of the ocean, silhouetted against the moonlight; Midorishima Resort. I walked over to Kimsha and shared a grin with the red-haired thirteen-year-old.

_YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!_

* * *

As we entered the turquoise-blue waters of the lagoon, Kimsha found a spare, sturdy-looking board from the stern of the ship. Night, with a little help from Elliot, tied the soundly-sleeping Ace to the middle of the board and hoisted the rear end of the board onto his shoulders. Elliot took the front end. They looked like a couple of cannibals from a wild tribe carrying away their dinner.

"Don't you think that looks a bit conspicuous?" I asked skeptically.

"I'm a prince." Elliot said self-importantly, his face impassive. "I can get away with anything."

"Okay, that makes sense." Not.

The island was very beautiful, with a beautiful stretch of beach encircling the green inland. Huts peeked out from in between the trees. A stretch of water bungalows reached out from one end of the island, and even though it must have been very late, the entire island was lit up with life. As we drew closer to the boardwalk that stretched onto the lagoon like a jetty, I saw a pair of pretty girls enjoying a drink on the shore. An impressive array of ships lined the long boardwalk, but it gave me relief to see that there weren't any pirate ships.

Almost as soon as we dropped anchor, a cocoa-skinned man with a smile and a name-tag that read '_Call me Guura' _greeted us on the boardwalk. "Hello," he smiled, bowing slightly to all of us. If he saw something odd about the fact that we had a man tied to a board, he didn't say so. "Elliot-sama," he bowed more formally to the bishounen prince, "it's lovely to have you here again." _Princes do get away with everything. _

He bowed to us, too. "Elliot-sama's friends, it's lovely to have you here, too." He said good-naturedly with a wide smile. Kimsha, Night and I smiled back politely but Zomi looked a bit irked to be addressed as such.

Guura waited politely for us to clamber out of the ship (Zomi had even brought three suitcases filled with clothes for all of us) before leading us down the boardwalk onto the white sand below. "You can leave the suitcases here; the staff will deliver them to your room." He then turned to the prince. "Elliot-sama," he asked politely, still ignoring the snoring-pirate-on-a-stick, "I assume you want the presidential suite again?"

"Oh no," Elliot smiled, "my friends and I have rented out three deluxe water bungalows earlier this morning"—So Vogel-sama had planned this skullduggery out while operating on my wound –"and we are staying there this time."

Guura made a small sound of comprehension. "Of course, your highness." He smiled at all of us before walking down the sandy path again. "Right this way."

We didn't pass by anybody as we walked down the sandy avenue, but I certainly saw a lot of interesting things. There were several signs that read magical-sounding stuff like '_Spa' _or '_turtle-nursery' _or '_pool' _or '_aquarium'_. We passed by a small, brightly-colored building that Guura explained was the day-care center.

The path opened up to the boardwalk connecting the water bungalows, lightly illuminated by the moon. There were about six small water bungalows on each side, with another larger six deeper into the lagoon. Guura led us onto the boardwalk, and we trailed after him, gazing at the huts in awe (well, I gazed at the pretty huts in awe – the other three were used to them). We walked over the wooden causeway until we were standing in front of the last three large water bungalows on the right.

"These are your rooms," he said, dropping three keys into Zomi's hands (Elliot was preoccupied with the snoring-pirate-on-a-stick, "I hope you have a lovely time at Midorishima Resort. Please do tell us if you need any assistance with anything." He bowed deeply and then retreated.

I turned back to the water bungalows as Night and Elliot went over to the farthest bungalow on the right and set the snoring-pirate-on-a-stick down by the door.

"So…" I started awkwardly. "One room for the girls, one room for the guys?" I smiled sheepishly, hoping they'd ignore the fact that one room would be left empty if we followed that plan. For some reason, a wild blush was creeping onto my face.

"No, of course not," Elliot interrupted me at once, walking back to where the rest of us were standing, "Zomi-chan and I will share a room." He smiled impassively.

The dark-haired girl set her sharp green eyes on her, glaring. "NO WE WILL NOT!" She protested at once. Then she turned to me and grinned before declaring triumphantly. "ACE-KUN AND RUBY-CHAN HAVE TO SHARE A ROOM!"

…_. NO WAY! _

"WHAT?" I screamed back just as loudly and arrogantly, ignoring the sudden thudding in my chest, "NO WAY! I AM NOT SHARING A ROOM WITH HIM!"

"I'm fine with sharing a room with Night," Kimsha said, blinking innocently.

"NO, YOU WILL NOT SHARE A ROOM WITH NIGHT!" Zomi and I said simultaneously, turning our fangs on the thirteen-year-old.

"YOU ARE A LITTLE GIRL," Zomi said loudly in a dangerous tone before pointing at Night, "AND HE IS A LITTLE BOY. YOU TWO WILL NOT SHARE A ROOM. YOU WILL SLEEP WITH ME AND THAT'S FINAL."

"Hey, what about me?" I scowled at Zomi, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm sleeping with you guys, too!"

"Nope. Not a chance." Elliot said. "We can't leave a room empty. It's always good to waste money." _WHAT KIND OF A JUSTIFICATION IS THAT? NO, IT ISN'T! _"You and Ace will _have_ to take that room. Night and I will share," he said a bit grudgingly, glancing at Zomi again, "and Zomi and Kimsha will share."

I blushed furiously. "BUT…" I started violently, only to be cut off by Kimsha.

"What's the problem, Ruby?" She blinked. "Didn't you two make out in the living room the other night? I heard a weird banging noise against Zomi's door while I was preparing to sneak out."

I stood there stunned, for a moment wondering what she was talking about. And then I remembered the little scene from about a week ago.

'_"You're different. I knew that when I first met you. You were certainly very odd." He said, resting his forehead against mine. Involuntarily, I let out a sigh again, and I felt the hand he hand around my wrist tighten a little. "But Ruby…" he breathed against my face again, closing his eyes, and the blush in my cheeks deepened. The hand that was on my neck trailed down my arm to snake around my waist. Another current ran through me._

_He opened his eyes and lowered his voice. The intensity of his gaze made me sigh, again. "I want you to be mine." He said shakily. "That's my problem, Ruby. I want you so badly."' _

…

Oh. My. God.

I'm sure the shade of crimson on my face would have put the finest tomato to shame. "WE DID NOT MAKE OUT!" I stammered. "Th-THAT WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING!"

Night started laughing, and I spared him a little surprised glance (I've never heard him laugh before) before turning back to the infuriating little redhead. But before I could speak, Zomi threw the key in my face. "Suck it up, and live with it, Ruby-chan." She smiled.

I scowled again, ignoring the heat spreading onto my cheeks. I had a very fine idea about what _Zomi _should suck up, anyway. I stomped over to the bungalow furthest from the shore and unlocked the door, spewing profanities about how you could always count on your friends to ditch you at the most critical moments. I opened the door to the magnificently-built hut and dragged the stupid snoring-pirate-on-a-stick inside before walking in to the room myself.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid—_

I paused, catching my breath. I momentarily forgot about my little dilemma.

The place was so neat and beautifully-decorated that it seemed shine with a holy light. The wooden (mahogany, no less) floor was neatly polished. I walked down the small entrance hallway, dragging Ace behind me (god, he was heavy) and peeked into the first room I saw. It was a bathroom, elegantly tiled and decorated with a splendid bathtub over by a ceiling-to-floor window which opened up to the sea. In the darkness of the night, I couldn't make out much besides the stars.

The hallway led into a beautiful bedroom (I cringed when I saw the king-sized bed) that faced a small balcony (containing a small pool and a Jacuzzi) which also opened up to the lagoon. Two doors were on the side of the bedroom; the closet, and yet another bathroom. An elegant divan was on the other side of the room. There was a Den Den Mushi (which Ace explained was a method of communication) on the wall.

I decided that I would throw the pirate-on-a-stick onto the king-sized bed, untie him, and hope to get a few hours of sleep on the divan before he woke up and all hell broke loose. Nobody took kindly to being kidnapped, but I figured that a pirate commander (who, by the way, was on a murderous mission to avenge his crewmate) would take it worse.

After heaving Ace onto the bed (and nearly getting a wheezing fit in the process), I hid the key (after locking the door) to the bungalow under the divan cushions. I poked around a bit in the closet. The hotel staff had already supplied a few sundresses (and horrifyingly, some lingerie) but there really wasn't anything suitable for me to wear to bed with another man (whom I am not romantically involved with) in the room.

Still slightly exhausted, I fell onto the divan and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

I was alerted from my dreamless repose when someone started to shake my shoulder vigorously. "No, Mama, I don't want to go to school." I grumbled sleepily without opening my eyes and rolled over to lie on my stomach. "I'm feeling sick." I faux coughed. I really didn't want to go. _Maybe I'll ask Miki to bring back the homework… not that I'll do it, anyway. Do I have a test today? _

Aforementioned someone shook me with more vigor, saying something in an urgent tone. I ignored him and almost dozed off again. Then he started yelling in my ear. "RUBY, WAKE UP!"

I sat up immediately, realizing that the voice wasn't my mother's. I was greeted by a pair of frantic brown eyes. "What the hell is going on?" Ace demanded. "Where's our boat? Where are we?" He was holding onto my shoulders.

I blinked, still a bit sleepy. _Oh yeah, that's right. Ugh, I'm not home anymore. _A wave of homesickness rushed through me. I looked over at the small sliding-glass door that opened up to the balcony. I could still see the night sky.

"Vogel-sama," I yawned, "wanted to thank us."

Ace's hands tightened on my shoulders and he scowled. Despite the sudden stubbornness in his eyes, I couldn't help but think how adorable he looked.

I shook my head slightly. _No, you can't think like that. You need to get home. _I sighed, trying not to look at him. "The king's son and the psycho trio abducted our ship after you fell asleep."

Ace blinked in surprise. "I fell asleep? When?"

_Oh my god. _I blinked. "Never mind."

A short silence passed between us. This was when I actually noticed how close he was. Ace seemed to notice this too, because he suddenly let go of my shoulders and retreated a few steps. Another awkward silence passed between us.

"Why are you sleeping on the sofa?" He asked suddenly.

"Because _you_ were sleeping on the bed." I yawned again, falling back down onto the divan, closing my eyes. _Maybe I can still get a few more hours of shut-eye…_

I was forced to open them again when a pair of strong arms abruptly reached under my body and lifted me up from the cushions. "H-Hey!" I said, blushing wildly, glaring at Ace. "What are you doing?! LET ME GO!" I all but shrieked as he ignored me and walked over to the king-sized bed and none-too-gently dropped me onto the mattress.

"_Oof!" _I said as I fell onto the bed, which was mercifully very soft. "What do you think you're doing, you idiot?" I sat up again, glaring at the stupid pirate, who took off his hat and placed it on the bedside table.

He turned off the light before clambering onto the divan. He didn't reply. I could just make out his silhouette as he placed his hands under his head, under the darkness. He withdrew one hand and conjured up a ball of fire from his index finger and observed it nonchalantly.

I stared at him for one more second before lying down on the bed, turning away from the pirate. "Make sure you don't burn the place down, okay?" I said without looking at him.

Another silence passed between us while I desperately tried to fall asleep. It was more difficult now, considering the fact that this time I have a pirate who is fully conscious of his actions in the room with me. Which is bad.

"Ruby," He said abruptly. I looked back at him. He wasn't staring at me. He was still observing the fire on his fingertip. His face was illuminated by the orange-red light, but his expression was strangely blank. "You're from another world, aren't you?"

My breath caught in my chest. My insides felt very cold, all of a sudden. _W…What? _

_HOW THE HELL DID HE FIND OUT!? _

* * *

**A/N: **Uh oh. What craziness shall ensue in the next chapter? DAN DAN DAAN. FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON... A HEART OF FIRE. Also, this chapter wasn't reread either. I apologize for any mistakes or general weirdness.

I'll update soon! Please do review! Thank you for reading~


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